


The Gift

by Starr_Williams



Series: Isle of Stone and Steel [4]
Category: Gargoyles (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 08:08:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 32,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30136557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starr_Williams/pseuds/Starr_Williams
Summary: What would you do if you were given the choice of what form to take: Human or Gargoyle? Elisa is given a gift from the resident fae-in-training that offers her the ability to take both forms, and the ability to decide which form she will remain in permanently. Human? Gargoyle?
Relationships: Goliath/Elisa Maza
Series: Isle of Stone and Steel [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2187018
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**FIVE YEARS AGO**

It was a rare night when Goliath and Elisa could find a large block of time together, where the calls of duty allowed them to just be together. Most of the time, they stayed close to home, either at her place or the castle.

At her condo, they might have a meal and settle in and watch a movie. Elisa had discovered that Goliath preferred historical dramas, and had a deep fondness for ones like Braveheart. Anything based in Scotland, really. Not so much for the stories themselves, but because it gave him a chance to reminisce about his own time and where they had come from.

Elisa didn't mind, and liked hearing about his time growing up in the castle in medieval Scotland.

If they stayed at the castle, they tended to stay in the quiet and solitude of the library. Goliath might read her a passage or two from whatever he was reading at the moment, or they might just curl up on the oversized sofas and talk.

It was tempting to stay in, but the mild April night just begged for them to go out. Elisa had packed a bag with an armload of sandwiches and a few odds and ends snacks that she had at home (she really needed to go grocery shopping soon), and met up with Goliath on her condo rooftop.

Goliath seemed a little… off tonight. Almost nervous. Elisa assumed it was due to the increasing Quarryman presence in the city, which was making it harder for the Gargoyles to go about undetected.

“We can stay in tonight,” Elisa offered.

“No,” Goliath said firmly. “We should go somewhere. I think I know the perfect place.”

“Okay,” Elisa said softly, and put her arms around his neck as he picked her up. “Where are we going?”

“You will see,” he said, cryptically. With four running steps, Goliath leapt onto the low wall that surrounded the building’s rooftop, and they were skyward.

The bright lights below in the city retreated to mere pinpoints as he took her high into the dark evening sky. 

In little time, they were soaring over Central Park. It was almost completely deserted at this time of night, with the exception of a few brave or foolhardy souls that liked to use the jogging paths when the park wasn't overrun with people. 

Goliath brought them down gently the highest balcony of the Belvedere Castle.

“Perfect,” Elisa said, breathing in the night air. It had been a long, harsh winter, but tonight the wind carried a much awaited scent of spring. 

Elisa set the bag of food down and walked to the edge of the tower. She gazed out over the rippling surface of the lake below that sparkled with the reflected lights of the city.

Goliath joined her, placing an arm around her shoulders, and a protective wing around her, blocking the slightest chill of the retreating winter that still hung in the air.

Elisa smiled at that. Gargoyles didn't feel the cold, so the fact that he had even thought about her being affected by the cold made her feel cherished.

It had been almost a year since their last encounter with the Hunters, and their showdown on the dam. Afterwards, both she and Goliath had admitted their feelings towards each other and they had been an “official” couple since. They both took every opportunity to meet up, however briefly, and had gradually become more relaxed about showing their feelings towards one another in front of others.

Much to their chagrin, it hadn't been a surprise for most of those around them. The clan had mostly given them a “well, duh” response.

Hudson admitted that he had seen it coming for a long time. “Almost from the beginning, Lass,” he said with a sly grin.

Even Elisa's parents rolled their eyes at the revelation, saying that they knew something was going on the first time that they had seen Goliath and her together.

Even though everyone had been so accepting, Elisa was still selfish of their time together like this, and was happy to have the time alone.

They stood in the comfortable silence, the muted sounds of the city around them.

Goliath gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze to get her attention. “Elisa,” he said quietly, “ I have something to speak with you about.”

“What's up Big Guy?” She asked. His tone was making her a little uneasy. He hadn't seemed like himself tonight. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” he said. “Nothing is wrong.”

“Okay,” Elisa said, slowly.

Goliath backed a step away from her, and took her hand in his. He knelt down, placing a gentle kiss on the back of her fingers. It was very old world, and something so totally normal for him to do that she really didn't know what to think.

“Goliath?” She asked, puzzled.

“You have been my dearest friend, almost from the moment that we met. You have placed yourself in danger more than once to protect myself and my clan. And,” Goliath's deep voice said. “you have become my greatest love.”

Elisa felt heat rise in her cheeks at the compliment, but she was still at a loss as to what was happening. “Goliath, I…”

She trailed off, as she saw Goliath reach into the leather pouch he wore on his belt. 

“I love you, Elisa,” he said, rising his free hand to the moonlight. In his palms, lay a small, delicate gold ring with a glittering stone that Elisa couldn't identify. “Would you do my the greatest of honors, and become my mate? My wife?”

Elisa's jaw fell open in shock. Her eyes flew from the ring to meet his sincere gaze. In his eyes, she saw both hope and a deep love that she had never thought to find.

Her breath hitched in the barest of gasps, as she felt involuntary tears well up in her eyes.

“Whether it be hours, or many years to come, I want to be by your side.” Goliath said.

Elisa was rendered speechless. Instead of verbalizing her answer, something that she wasn't sure she was capable at that moment, she simply raised her left hand and let him slip the tiny band on her finger.

It fit perfectly.

The smile that Goliath gave her shone brighter than the sun. He stood and whisked her off her feet to swing her around.

Elisa laughed and threw her arms over his shoulders. “Yes!” She finally managed to get out in a near shout. “Yes,” she said once more, quieter, and pulled his head down to hers for a kiss.


	2. Chapter 2

**PRESENT DAY**

The Great Hall of the old Scottish castle was ablaze with light. The aged stone walls were adorned with flowers, their scent mingling with the delicious smells of the feast that had been laid out on the enormous solid oak tables in the center.

The two fireplaces, one at either end of the long hall, had been lit. The homey scent of the fires, and the comforting warmth they provided against the winter chill, only added to the festivities.

The sound of familiar voices, raised in cheerful conversations, echoed throughout the hall. Friends and family stood in groups, smiling and laughing with each other.

Elisa found herself momentarily alone for the first time in hours, and took the time to survey the scene in front of her with a deep sense of happiness and gratitude. Everyone had gathered to celebrate this night, to celebrate the anniversary of her and Goliath's wedding. It was a week early, but it was easier this way to get everyone together, since Elisa was scheduled to work the Christmas shifts this year.

It had been five years, and their small clan had grown considerably. 

In the corner, Skyler sat talking with Brooklyn. Liam, Elisa and Goliath's adopted son, was babbling happily from his perch on her lap as Brooklyn was feeding him small bites of cake.

Elisa’s mother Diane sat at the table, exchanging stories with Hudson. Elisa had a feeling that she, an anthropologist, was using the chance to learn about life a thousand years ago, straight from the source. Diane specialized in African heritage and legends, but never passed up an opportunity to expand her knowledge of other cultures.

Peter, her father, was chatting with Lexington, no doubt exchanging their views on any new tech gadgets and developments that had hit the market since they last spoke.

Broadway, ever the food enthusiast, was badgering Penny, the chef in residence who owned and operated a restaurant on the lower floors of the Xanatos Enterprises building, on recipes and cooking techniques.

Angela and Pamela had congregated in a corner. Pamela was about six month pregnant with her and Matt’s first child, and was laughing over the antics of the children who were running around happily chatting with anyone who would listen.

At the moment, the twin gargoyle children and Alex Xanatos were hanging all over Matt and Talon, who seemed to be having the time of their life trying to keep up with the three of them. 

Bronx, who had been curled up napping near one the the fireplaces, bounded up to the children to add to the happy confusion and throwing the children into another round of happy squeals.

Maggie was chatting with Fox Xanatos. About what, Elisa could only imagine, but it was nice to see that she was getting more comfortable around them. Until the last year or so, Maggie had still held some resentment towards the former criminal couple. 

After all, it had been one of David's experiments that had been responsible for Maggie's transformation into a feline form with wings. Luckily, after the Xanatos’ had come to the aid of the Labyrinth, the underground homeless sanctuary that the mutates had taken responsibility for, the old resentments had seemed to ease up enough for them to at least be civil to each other.

As Elisa watched the scene, Katie came running up to touch lightly on Maggie's sleeve to get her attention.

Katie had been the child of one of the regular residents of the Labyrinth. Five years ago, just before Elisa and Goliath had gotten married, Katie's mother had broken one of the few hard and fast rules of the Labyrinth and had caused a drunken scene. When the mother had been asked to leave, she had stormed off seeming to have forgotten that she even had a child, leaving a frightened seven year old alone. 

Having already formed a bond with the girl before Katie's mother had abandoned her, Maggie had insisted that Katie stay with her and Talon. 

It had been five years now, and the mother had never returned for her daughter. Elisa, Matt and Captain Chavez had attempted to find her. For a while they had even been checking the city morgues, but no trace of her had ever been found.

Maria Chavez, Captain of the 23rd precinct and a Maza family friend, had pulled every string that she had. Two years after Katie had been unofficially adopted by Talon and Maggie, paperwork had been pushed through without the regular appearance before a judge, and Katie had become (legally) the daughter of Maggie and Derek Maza.

Now at age 12, Katie was a healthy young woman with a promising future. She had started homeschooling with a tutor, taking her lessons at Elisa's condo. Despite having had no formal education prior, she was smart enough, hard working enough, to have been skipped a few grades. 

She was taking her lessons at a high school sophomore level, and already thinking about college.

It was still a worry in the back of Elisa's mind that the mother might show up one day, and she knew it plagued Maggie's thoughts as well, but for now the two of them were inseparable.

Shaking herself out of her current thoughts, Elisa scanned the room until she found her target. 

Goliath, the love of her life, was deep in conversation with David Xanatos. 

Elisa felt a smile cross her face. Xanatos had been hailed as a handsome, imposing figure in magazines and media for years now, but in Elisa's mind he couldn't hold a candle to Goliath.

As if sensing her gaze, Goliath glanced her way. He sent her a small smile before turning to excuse himself from whatever he and Xanatos had been talking about.

Goliath made his way to her side, reaching out to run his talons through her long, dark hair. 

“Hey Big Guy,” Elisa said, reaching up to place her hand over his where it had come to rest on her cheek in the now familiar way that gargoyles showed affection.

“Hello, My Elisa,” he greeted back with a gentle smile. “What were you thinking of, to make you smile like that?”

“I was just thinking about how lucky I am, to have so many friends and family.” She admitted, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “How our family has grown, and getting bigger all the time,” Elisa gave him a mischievous grin, “And how handsome my husband is.”

Goliath gave a deep humming rumble, like he always did when he was deep in thought or considering something important. He glanced down at her, seeming to take in her figure clad in the green velvet medieval styled dress. “I am afraid that everyone here pales in comparison to one female in the room.”

“Fox?” Elisa said, jokingly.

He gave her a firm shoulder bump in reprimand. “No. I was speaking of my beautiful wife.”

Goliath had been in modern day Manhattan for nearly 10 years now, but he had retained his old world manner of speaking that never failed to make Elisa blush when it was directed at her.

Like now, as she felt the warm heat rising in her face.

Goliath chuckled, raising her hand to admire how the reflected fire’s light reflected in the alexandrite stone place a kiss on the antique wedding ring that he had placed on her hand on their wedding day. 

“Five years, Goliath” Elisa said quietly. “It's hard to believe that it's been five years already.”

“Yes,” Goliath replied. “And we have already been through much. We not only found each other, but we are married. We have a son,” he glanced towards where Liam was beginning to fade into the sleep of humans. He turned back to her then, “I thought I had lost you, a few times, but in the end, we were meant to find each other.”

Elisa sighed. “I almost lost myself for a while, there,” she murmured, thinking of the months that she had spent, lost, her memories and identity missing after a run in with Jon Cannore that had almost ended her life.

“But you were found,” Goliath replied. “You came back to us.”

“We have had our share of excitement.” Elisa said, ruefully. “Even before we were married, we were travelling the world, fighting Oberon and his children. Not to mention the Hunters and keeping Demona from wiping all humans from the face of the Earth.”

“Another plan of hers that failed,” Goliath suddenly grinned. “Especially after I first saw you in a Gargoyle form. You took my breath away, and while I thought you beautiful before, that was the first moment that I began thinking of you as a potential mate. A wife.

Elisa laughed in surprise. “I guess I had wondered about that. It was a real shame that we didn't have more time together as Gargoyles. I would have liked having more time to get the hang of gliding.”

Goliath chuckled, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “That would have been wonderful, my love, but I love you as you are. Human or Gargoyle, it matters not.”

“Yeah, well, that is the one area that I find myself actually jealous of Demona.” Elisa admitted. “Both human and Gargoyle? Never having to sleep? Best of both worlds, and  _ she _ gets it.”

“It was meant to be a curse,” Goliath pointed out. “Demona’s hatred of the humans would be a form of torture, having to spend a portion of her life as one.”

“That's true,” Elisa said. “But still, except for the whole blinding- pain- caused- by- transforming thing, I would be tempted to get Puck mad at me to get cursed too.”

Goliath gave another low, rumbling hum. He gently turned her, leading her out the doors behind where they had been standing, and out to the courtyard. “It would, indeed, be interesting to have you in human form to care for Liam and continue your work as a detective, and Gargoyle at night. However,” he gently picked her up, cradling her against his chest, “I would miss this.” He quickly ascended the stone steps to the parapets, “And if you ever want to go gliding, you have only to ask.” With that, he launched them both over the city for a short glide.

Both of them were so occupied with each other, that neither of them noticed that someone had been listening to their conversation from the shadows. 

As the pair glided off into the night, the small figure turned to go back into the castle. He had a plan, but he would need some help.


	3. Chapter 3

Goliath and Elisa returned to the castle with plenty of time to thank their guests and see them off, leaving them with two hours to spare before the sun rose for the day. 

The rest of the clan went out to do a quick once over of the city, being careful to stay close to the castle so that they could be close by to take their resting positions for the day.

Once the party had broken, Goliath and Elisa had gathered their things and we're preparing for the glide home. Skyler had offered to remain at the castle for the night with Liam to give the couple some alone time, and Elisa had jumped at the chance.

She grabbed her formal, long woolen coat and wrapped herself in it's warmth for the ride home. 

Up on the parapets once more, Goliath had swept Elisa up in his arms, but a familiar voices stopped him in his tracks.

“You weren’t going to leave before getting your final gift, we're you?”

“Puck?” Elisa burst out, surprised at the sudden appearance of the fae trickster.

“In the flesh,” he said, bowing deeply, even as he hovered above the ground.

“What are you doing here?” Goliath asked suspiciously, carefully lowering Elisa back to the ground.

“What? A Fae can’t come out to play once in a while?” Puck, arms crossed, looked offended.

“Not you,” Elisa said carefully. “If you come out to play, there’s something going on.”

Puck heaved an annoyed sigh. “Part of Big Daddy Oberon’s stipulations, I know.” He gave a big smile, “But I did have the chance to come out tonight, because Alex needed some assistance with his present.”

“Present?” Elisa asked, feeling a little like a parrot, repeating what Puck was saying. “What present?”

“Here, Aunt Elisa,” Alex said, shyly, entering from the doorway behind Puck. In his small hand was a long, decorated box, the kind you’d find at an upscale jewelry store.

“Oh, Alex,” Elisa said, touched, but still weary from Puck’s appearance. “Thank you, buddy.”

She untied the silky ribbon from the box, and slowly lifted the lid. Inside, carefully laid out on a dark purple velvet lining, was a small hourglass pendant on a gold chain.

“Oh!” Elisa exclaimed, taking the necklace out to hold it up to the moonlight. “It’s beautiful!” The sands inside had been colored in deep jewel toned blues, purples and reds. The overall effect was magical on its own. The small grains of sand began falling from the top downward, however the amount of sand, upper side or lower, never seemed to change. 

Elisa tilted her head at that, glancing between Puck and the young Xanatos boy. 

“That’s not the present,” Alex said with a grin, holding his hand up to his magic teacher, Puck.

The fae grasped the small hand, and together, the two forms began glowing with a mystical green light, their voices raised in unison:

“Elisa Maza, human born

Wishing for another form

Human by day, Gargoyle by night

I give the gift of wings for flight

The power within this magic token

Until the time that it be broken

In that form, your choice be made

The magic done, the spell will fade”

Briefly, the pendant glowed with the same green light, before fading back into nothing.

Elisa looked from the magic duo to the necklace and back again. “Translation please,” she said, frowning.

“You’re no fun,” Puck sighed and rolled his eyes. “The necklace lets you be human when the sun is up, and gargoyle at night, without the painful transformation that I stuck Demona with.” He grinned mischievously. “Don’t tell her, but that was just a little something extra that I tossed her way.”

“How kind of you,” Elisa said, sarcastically. 

“I didn’t like her much at that moment.” Puck said, defensively.

“Puck,” Elisa snapped. “Focus, please.”

“Fiiiiine,” Puck huffed out. “Basically, that necklace will give you the ability to change to human during the day and gargoyle during the night. Take all the time you want, until you choose if you want to be human or gargoyle, and when you decide, break the hourglass and you will remain in that form.”

“What if it breaks by accident?” Elisa asked.

“Your hands are the only ones who can break it,” Puck assured her. “That way, the choice is truly yours, and yours alone to make.” Puck levitated and gave a very impish grin, “Kind of a ‘you break it, you bought it’ kind of deal.”

“Okay,” Elisa said, slowly, still trying to piece together the rules of the spell, and the implications of it all. “So, when does this thing start working? It’s night, and I’m still human.”

There was a brief glowing green whirlwind, and Pucks alter-ego, Owen Burnett stood before her. He took his glasses off, reaching into his pocket to retrieve a handkerchief to police the lenses as he spoke. “It starts the first time you put it on,” He said, in his normal flat monotone voice. “That will give you time to make the necessary arrangements for work. I am assuming that Skye will still be taking care of Liam during the day, so that will not be much of an adjustment. Once the magic begins, you will not need to wear the necklace at all, however,” Owen levelled his ice blue eyes at Elisa, “I suggest that you do, so that it is always available to you should your choice be made sooner rather than later. If the necklace is lost, then you will be stuck in an endless cycle of changing from human to Gargoyle until it is located and the terms of the spell are completed.”

“I heard you talking earlier,” Alex said, happily. “Do you like it?”

“I do, Alex,” Elisa hurried to reassure the little boy. 

Elisa lowered the necklace back into the long, thin box that it had come in, leaning down to give the boy a hug. 

She looked at her husband, reading the concern in his eyes. 

“I will need to take care of a few things before I put it on, but it is an amazingly thoughtful gift,” Elisa said with a smile. “Why don’t you go inside now, and get out of the cold?”

“Okay,” Alex said.

“Yes,” Owen said. “Your magic lesson is over, and it is bedtime.”

“Aw,” Alex pouted. “But Owen…”

Together, the Xanatos child and majordomo walked back into the inner castle, Alex’s plaintive begging for ‘just a little longer’ fading as the door closed behind them.

“Elisa…” Goliath began, not sure how he felt about the gift that was being offered to them.

“I’ll have to tell Captain Chavez, I guess,” Elisa said, smiling at the look of surprise that crossed his face. “I’ll need to transfer to day shifts, and make sure to be off work and home before sunset.” She laughed as an unexpected thought crossed her mind. “You’re going to have to teach me to glide again, Big Guy.”

Goliath reached down to tenderly take one of her hands in his own. “Are you sure that this is something that you want to do?”

“Goliath,” Elisa laughed and threw herself into his arms. “To have the chance to glide through the night sky with you under my own power, and not have to be carried? To join you on patrols, and not have to simply listen on the communicators? To be able to do all of that, still work at a job I love, and take care of our son during the day? Honestly?” Elisa reached up to give him a quick kiss, “Honestly, I don’t even really need to think about it.”

Goliath looked as if he wanted to protest, and Elisa could almost hear the warring thoughts going through his head. After a moment, he finally said, “Are you certain this is something that you want to do?”

“I would really like to do this,” Elisa said, earnestly. “And if it doesn't work, Puck gave me a way out. We can choose if being human is the best for us, or Gargoyle. Or,” Elisa stressed, “if we can make it work, I could just not break the pendant and remain in both forms.”

Goliath still looked unsure, and Elisa completely understood. Working with Pucks spells were iffy sometimes at best, and sometimes the consequences were worse than any kind of benefits.

“Let’s go home, Big Guy,” Elisa said, raising her arms for Goliath to pick her up. “It’s almost morning. We can leave it alone for tonight, and talk it through some more tomorrow.”

Goliath nodded in agreement, and lifted her effortlessly in his arms.

It was a silent trip home, each lost in their own thoughts.

Elisa felt like Goliath was hesitating, and she could understood to a point.

She had her own doubts trying to creep in, now that the initial surprise had worn off. There were a lot of things that would need to be taken care of before she could even consider activating that spell.

First and foremost, she would have to talk to Skyler. She was a blessing as far as helping Elisa with childcare for Liam, but even a wonderful person like Skyler has limits. Elisa would need her to give up her nights to watch Liam, and most days as well. 

Elisa would still need to work to pay bills, and her schedule had never been regular to begin with. She didn’t work a Monday through Friday, nine to five job. Very rarely would she have two days off a week, and even rarer was to have two days off in a row. Elisa already felt guilty sometimes about keeping Skyler working every night so that she couldn’t even make plans to go out on her own. 

Skyler protested that she didn’t mind, but that didn’t make Elisa feel any less guilty. She was still a young, single woman. She should be able to go out once in awhile. Make friends. See a movie. Something.

Then again, Skyler didn’t seem to have any friends outside of the clan and their allies…

One other factor that she was worried about was how Liam would respond to her in Gargoyle form. If she took on the form that she had during the whole Titania’s Mirror mess, then she would still look pretty similar to her human form… just with wings. And a tail. Would he be able to see that it was still her? Or would he be so scared that he wouldn’t come near her?

Yes, she did have a lot to think over.

And Puck did say that it was her choice. She was the one who could make the choice to put the amulet on in the first place to start the spell. Once it was activated, only her hands could break the spell, and it was her choice on which form to choose. 

If it weren’t for Liam, she had a feeling that she would have less of a hesitation on choosing to go with a Gargoyle form, but he was still so young.

But if she could have both forms…

Goliath landed lightly on the rooftop patio of her penthouse condo of the Jade building. She had left some lights on so that the house wouldn’t be dark when they arrived, and the lights from inside lit the courtyard with a gentle glow.

Elisa slid from Goliath’s arms, landing gracefully on her feet with the ease and practice of so many years.

“Lets go inside,” Goliath suggested. He placed a warm hand over her chilled cheek. “You are getting cold.”

“Sure,” Elisa agreed, leading the way to the french styled patio doors that led inside. She pulled her keys from the coat pocket and unlocked the doors. 

A little over five years ago, when she had moved into the condo, she had arranged for door locks to be placed in those doors. The locksmith had jokingly asked why they would be needed if she lived on the top floor. Elisa had given him some non-committal answer about her being a cop and work paranoia or something along those lines.

The truth was, most of the things that could break into her place were able to fly, glide or had specially designed flying machines. Everyone on the lower floors were worried about unwanted visitors that would come in on foot… Elisa knew better.

Thus, the door locks on the patio doors.

There had been an added security measure put into place, after Goliath had she had married and he had started to stay with Elisa most days. Puck had cast some sort of magical field around the top floors of her building that blurred people's view of the courtyard from above. If anyone were to fly over the building, the courtyard would always appear empty and the condo windows dark. Just a nondescript rooftop area, like any other in Manhattan. They would never see the Gargoyles in their stone form.

That fell in the loophole of the Gargoyles needed to be protected, because they were added protection for Titania's grandchildren.

Whatever the reason, Elisa was thankful.

Some people were still enchanted by Liam and how he came to be adopted by the cop who had saved him. It didn't happen very often anymore, but if Elisa and Liam went out somewhere, inevitably there would be that one person who would recognize them together.

She had even been contacted by local media for follow up stories on how Liam was doing.

Eisa declined them all, but reporters were sneaky. She didn't trust that one of them wouldn't try for a fly by and try to get a photo or two.

Yes, she was thankful for Puck’s cloaking spell.

Elisa closed and locked the door behind her. Skyler would be bringing Liam back later, but she would be using the front door, so Elisa didn't have to worry about leaving the door unlocked. 

“Are you still thinking about using the amulet?” Goliath asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Elisa admitted. “There are a lot of things to take care of before I even could, but… it's tempting.”

Goliath nodded. 

“I would really like to hear your thoughts, big guy,” Elisa said. “If you absolutely hate the idea, I won't do it.”

“Elisa,” Goliath said with a sigh. “I love you, and want you to be happy always. I would try to never keep you from doing anything that you would like to do.”

“But?” She encouraged him to continue.

“But I am worried.” He finally admitted. “It sounds wonderful, but we both know that Puck's spells always come with a price. I worry about what that could mean for you. For us.”

“I can see your point,” Elisa said. She took the long box from the inner pocket of her coat. “Why don't we just put this somewhere safe for now, and we give it a couple of days. I can start checking with Maria and Skyler. I’m not going to do this thing and quit my job or leave Liam with no one to care for him, so it might not even be a viable option, anyway.”

Goliath nodded thoughtfully. “Yes. We both have arrangements to make and obligations to others that must be considered.”

“So, we take a few days.” Elisa said. She took the long box and placed it on the uppermost shelf of the closet, next to her gun safe. It would be safe there, and out of inquisitive hands.

“You know,” Elisa said, slyly. She angled a look at Goliath. “There are still a few hours left before sunrise, and Liam’s not due back until mid-morning…”

Goliath gave her a wicked smile, and pulled her into a tight embrace. “Now that is a plan I can agree to right now.”

Sweeping his wife up into his arms, he carried her upstairs.


	4. Chapter 4

After the sun rose, Elisa sat in the courtyard with Goliath for a while. It was cold, but Elisa remained, her face raised to the warmth of the sun. 

She was glad that she didn’t have to give this up, the sitting in the sun. She would miss it. It was different for the Gargoyles, she knew. 

How could you miss something that you’d never seen? Never felt?

She would miss it, though, if she did choose to become fully Gargoyle. Being able to see the colors in the sun rising and setting. To feel the warmth as the sun’s rays caressed your skin. 

Just as Elisa was entering the apartment, the sound of keys in the door caught her attention. 

Skyler entered, a still sleepy Liam in tow. He was in his footie pajamas that had little soccer balls all over them, dragging his favorite blue fleece blanket behind him. He was rubbing one hand over his eyes, and gave her a silly smile. “Hi mom,” He said.

“He there, little man,” Elisa said, swooping him into a hug. Liam threw his arms around her shoulders, and laid his head on her shoulder. “Did you have fun playing with the other kids?”

“Yeah,” he replied, sleepily. “Alex let me play his new game, and Christopher played Legos with me.”

“Sounds like you had a busy night,” Elisa said with a smile. “How about we go take a nap and recharge?”

“M’Kay,” He said, already partially asleep.

“I’ve got him,” Elisa said to Skyler. “You go get some rest, too.”

“Sounds good,” Skyler said brightly, but Elisa could tell the young woman was winding down herself.

“Alrighty, Mr. Liam,” Elisa said, heading to the stairs. “Let’s go.”

Liam didn’t reply, having already fallen asleep and was happily drooling on her shoulder.

Elisa chuckled. It wasn’t that long ago that she hadn’t even entertained the thought of being a parent. When she’d originally taken Liam into her home, it had originally been for a short time until a foster family could be found. Then she’d been offered the opportunity to adopt him, and had leapt at it, unwilling or unable to let the precious little boy go.

Suddenly, she was a wife and a mother. She had become a champion at mixing formula bottles and cleaning spit up. Having him drooling on her was no longer something that she batted an eye at.

Liam didn’t even twitch as she laid him on the bed. She tucked his blanket around him, and closed the blackout curtains to keep the daylight from waking him. 

The curtains were necessary. With a mother who worked overnights and a father who was only able to be with him during the night time hours, Elisa had had to find a way to adapt his room so that he would have a semi-normal sleep cycle.

With the curtains drawn, Elisa turned on the small Mickey Mouse night light that he had picked out himself, and quietly closed the door behind her.

With a sigh, she went back down to grab a bottle of water. She was tired, but she still had enough in her mind that she didn't feel as if she’d be able to go to sleep right away.

Skyler was in the kitchen, putting together a small sandwich. She smiled at Elisa and offered to make her one as well.

“That sounds amazing,” Elisa responded. “i didn't have a lot to eat last night.” She grabbed the water out of the refrigerator and sat at the small kitchen table.

“I didn't think so,” Skyler said with a grin. “You were so busy talking to everyone, I didn't see you eat more than a few of the orderves.”

“I wasn't really hungry until I saw your sandwich,” Elisa admitted.

“No problem.” Skyler said happily. “Turkey on wheat okay?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Skyler whipped up two simple sandwiches, placing them on the table before taking a seat herself.

Elisa took a bite of the sandwich, comfortable with the silent company that Skyler was able to provide. 

Almost three years now, Skyler had been a part of her household, Elisa marveled. Three years of caring for Liam, then helping him and Katie with their homeschooling. She even helped with the housekeeping, even though Elisa made it clear that it wasn't expected of her.

She had even put herself in danger, placing herself between an enemy and the children to keep them safe.

For that alone, Elisa was determined to make sure that she was happy, safe and (as long as she was willing) would have a job for life. 

Because two of the other children that she had saved we're the children of David Xanatos, unbeknownst to Skyler, a savings account had been opened up in her name to make sure that she would want for nothing the rest of her life. If the day ever came that Skyler decided to move on, she would be presented with the account to make any transitioning easier for her.

She had adapted to everything about their lives so we'll, that Elisa was nervous about throwing one more thing at her, but…

“Hey, Skye,” Elisa hesitated, but kept talking, “I may have an opportunity for something, and need to run it by you.”

Skyler cocked her head inquisitively. “What's up?”

Elisa took a breath, and barreled ahead. She told Skyler about the gift, and her ideas. The schedule changes and what it would ultimately mean for everyone.

“Hmm,” Skyler said thoughtfully, putting her sandwich down and leaning back in her chair. “Wow. That sounds amazing.”

“Yeah, it does,” Elisa said softly. “Goliath is nervous about it, and we said we would take a couple of days to think about it.” Elisa looked Skyler in the eyes, “But I am not going to make a decision without talking to you about it. It would mean more time that you would have to spend with Liam. Even more time that I would be unavailable during the day, since I would be working.”

“Don't worry about me,” Skyler said with a smile. “I am a homebody. I prefer to be home, and Liam is no trouble at all. I could take him to the castle at night to meet up with you and Goliath if you prefer, and stay in during the nights you would like to stay here, but” she said with a grin, “I don't see that happening. If you decide to do this, I think, at least for the first week or so, you would want to go out with the clan for at least part of their patrols.” 

“What makes you say that?” Elisa asked.

“That's who you are,” Skyler said with a shrug. “You have this protective streak. You and the clan share that in common.” She looked at Elisa then. “I will help however you need me to. Are you going to do it?” 

“I don't know,” Elisa said.

“Okay, how about this,” Skyler crossed her arms on the table and leaned forward. “say the first thing that comes to your head. Do you  **_want_ ** to do it?”

“I…”

“No.” Skyler interrupted. “No thinking allowed. Do you want to do it?”

“Yes,” Elisa said.

“Okay then,” Skyler sat back with a laugh.

“It's not that simple,” Elisa said. 

“I'm not saying that you should do it now,” Skyler said softly. “I'm not even saying that you should do it at all. I just wanted you to be be honest with yourself.”

Elisa sighed. “If I were honest with myself, I wanted to put the necklace on as soon as I realized what it would do. Thank the Gods for Goliath who was the voice of reason and reminded me that I have things I need to see to first.”

“Well, don't worry about Liam and I. We’re fine, and I will be there to help wherever and whenever I can.”

“Thank you,” Elisa said, reaching out to take her hand.

“That being said,” Skyler picked up her sandwich, “you have today off, right?”

“Yes,” Elisa said cautiously. “Why?”

“Changing work schedules might take a while. You can go in and talk to Maria and Matt and get that process going.”

“Why Matt?” Elisa asked. She was going to talk to Matt about it anyway. They were partners, after all, but she was curious as to why Skyler brought him up.

“You might need someone to help cover you if you need to take off for some reason. If he is there to cover for you, then that's one less thing for you to worry about.”

“True.”

“Plus, with Pam about to have a baby, it might be better for him to have a day shift for a while. He could help out more at home once the baby is born.”

Elisa looked at the young woman. “How is it you're able to think of all this, and some of it hadn't even crossed my mind yet?”

“Sometimes it helps to have someone who is a step back from everything else to bounce ideas off of.” Skyler shrugged.


	5. Chapter 5

A step back from everything…

Skyler's words echoed in Elisa's head.

Elisa hadn't lied. She had honestly wanted nothing more than to put the amulet on and start the spell since it had been given to her.

Liam was taken care of, and Skyler was behind her a hundred percent.

That was one worry off her mind.

Maria wouldn't be around for a few more hours, and Matt had the night off. She had already left him a voicemail, inviting him over to the condo for dinner and would talk to him when he woke up.

Elisa had some time on her hands, and was still too restless to sleep.

A step back…

Someone who knew about the clan, and she could talk to about them. Someone a step back who could look at the situation with a fresh mind, and wasn’t emotionally invested in the outcome.

One person came to mind.

Elisa entered the Xanatos Enterprise building, and went straight to the area that housed the Three Shots. 

Three Shots was a Mexican themed bar and restaurant, run by Penelope “Penny” Hernandez. She was the owner and head chef of her own restaurant for a few years in Manhattan. One night, after an attempted robbery, she and another employee had been saved by the Gargoyles, and she had become a loud spokesperson in favor of having them around to protect the city.

Penny's lease for her restaurant had been coming up for renewal when she had been approached by the Xantos’ and offered a place in the XE building to cater to the employees and the Xanatos family in particular.

Penny had leapt at the chance and had become a fixture in their little group.

After the halflings had attacked, she had armed herself with a cast iron pan and lept to the defense of the clan and their allies.

Since then, she had not only met the clan, she had begun making nightly food deliveries to them to make sure that they always had something good to eat when they woke for the day.

Even from outside the door, Elisa could take a deep breath, inhaling the scents that greeted her.

Fresh flour tortillas being pressed and cooked on the skillets. Seasoned meats, peppers and onions being prepared for the lunch rush that was sure to hit in the next hour or so.

It was still half an hour before opening, so it was empty. Just as Elisa had hoped.

Elisa stood there, looking through the tinted windows into the large dining room that had been decorated to look as if you had just stepped into a painting. In a contrast to the utilitarian offices, cubicles and impersonal storefront of the outside, the interior was amazing. 

Most of the dining room was scattered with small tables, with a few smaller dimly lit alcoves carved into the walls for more private dining. A long bar graced one wall for those only wanting a quick drink, the shelves lit to display rows of gleaming bottles.

The walls were a cream colored stucco with Southwest inspired art gracing the walls. The tables, obviously hand crafted, we're polished to an almost mirror shine, with festive turquoise, yellow and blue patterned cloth napkins. Even the silverware was polished and gleamed in the light. Penny ran a tight ship, making sure everything here was done just so.

Taking a deep breath, Elisa opened the door. Above the door was a small bell that heralded her arrival. There was a clanging and a soft curse from the kitchen.

Elisa smiled as Penny, dishtowel in hand, entered the room. “I'm sorry, but we're not open… Elisa!” She exclaimed, catching sight of the detective. “Come! Come in!”

“I don't want to interrupt, but I was hoping you could spare a few minutes.” Elisa said.

“For you, anytime,” she said with a smile. “You have sent so many of your officers my way, we are almost always full now.”

“I am sure your amazing cooking has something to do with that,” Elisa laughed. 

“Well, I would hope so,” Penny retorted with a grin. “Your partner was just in here with his lovely wife last night after the party.”

“Really?”

Penny nodded. “His wife was craving my chicken enchiladas. He took two full orders to go.”

“Wow,” Elisa raised an eyebrow. “That woman is going to pop any day now, and she's still eating all the spicy food she can get her hands on.”

Penny nodded. “I have a feeling that you didn't come here to discuss your partner, his wife or my enchiladas. Let's have a seat. What would you like to eat?”

Elisa sat in one of the small private tables. “I am fine.”

Penny put her hands on her hips. “I didn't ask if you were 'fine’,” she scolded. “You are too skinny. You are always busy and forget to eat. Order something.”

“Uh,” Elisa said, then gave up. She was going to protest, but knew that she would just waste time arguing and would eventually lose the argument anyway. “The chicken enchiladas sound good.”

“Red sauce, extra cheese and refried beans on the side, right?” Penny asked.

“Should I worry that you know what I like, before I order it?”

“Nah,” Penny said, waving her hand dismissively. “I just have a good memory for my regular customers.”

Penny went to the kitchen door and called out, “Joseph, I need an enchilada platter. Chicken. Red sauce, extra cheese and refried on the side. I am going to be out here for a bit with my friend, so just let me know when it is done, and I'll come get it.”

“Will do,” came the reply.

Penny returned to the table and sat opposite of Elisa. “What is going on? Everyone okay?”

“Everyone is fine,” Elisa assured her. “I am just in need of some advice. Maybe.”

Penny raised one eyebrow. “Maybe?”

“I don't really know,” Elisa admitted. “Maybe I just need someone not so closely related to the situation to help me talk through some stuff.”

“Well, I am here. Talk away,” Penny said, leaning back into the booth seat.

“Well…” Elisa proceeded to tell Penny everything. The spell and her want to use it. 

Elisa had just finished when Joseph called from the kitchen that the food was ready. Penny went to retrieve the hot plate of food and brought it to the table, placing it gently in front of Elisa.

She still hadn't said a word.

Elisa picked up a fork and restlessly made a pattern in her beans.

“Well,” Penny finally said. “You have a hell of a choice to make.”

“Yeah,” Elisa said, taking a fork full of beans. “I just kind of needed an outsider’s perspective on it.”

“I can understand the temptation to do this, and just know that I will support you,” Penny said softly. “So I guess I will play the devil's advocate and ask why you want to do this. It is an amazing opportunity, to have the chance to be a Gargoyle…” she trailed off.

“But?” Elisa encouraged her to complete the thought.

“I don't know,” Penny shrugged. “It is a lot. You have been human all your life. Is that something you would give up?”

“Not give up, but be both for a while.”

“What happens if you decide in a moment to remain as a Gargoyle?” Penny asked. 

“I don't know what I would choose,” Elisa admitted. “I just feel like an outsider sometimes. I know too much about the Gargoyles, the fae, the other parts of their world to really feel like I fit as a human anymore. Not that I would change anything,” she hurried to add. “I am so thankful that I have the clan in my life.”

“You did marry one of them,” Penny said with a smile.

“And he's the love of my life,” Elisa said. She held her face in her hands. “And that was cheesy. Sorry”

“No, don't worry about it,” Penny waved off the concern. “Cheesy or not, that's what you feel. Keep talking.”

“Okay, so with the clan, I don't feel like I fully fit in there either.” Elisa admitted. “I am a liability as a human. I'm not as strong, or as fast. I have my police and martial arts training, but I still can't keep up if something happens. I can't glide, so I am always worried that something will happen and I can't get to them quickly.”

“That's your protective streak.”

Elisa sighed. “You're the second person to say that today.”

“That's why you went into police work, right?” Penny said matter of factly. “It's in your dna.”

“Yeah.”

Penny was quiet for a moment, seemingly deep in thought. “So, I am not sure how much help I will be on this,” she said slowly, “but it seems to me that this is something that you may need to do.”

Elisa raised an eyebrow. “ _ Need _ to do?”

“You're feeling out of place,” Penny said. “It happens to everyone, just a little more for you, since you are kind of caught between humans and Gargoyles. Maybe you should go ahead and activate the spell. Get some time to see the other side of things. Find your place.”

“Really?” Elisa asked.

“Really,” Penny patted her hand in a motherly way. “I am hoping that when you make your choice, you remain human, but that's selfish of me. I would miss seeing you in here. But if you choose to be a Gargoyle, then maybe that's who you were truly meant to be.”

Elisa smiled at the woman. “Thanks Penny.”

“Chefs and bartenders. We make the best confidantes.”. Penny got to her feet. “Now, you eat. Go take care of what you need to take care of, and you let me know what you decide. I will leave you to eat now, and go finish getting ready to open.”

“I will,” Elisa promised. “Thanks again.”

Elisa was suddenly ravenous, her mind a little more clear, and proceeded to clear her plate. She grabbed a bar towel and cleaned the table where she had been sitting and took the plate back to the kitchen.

“Hey, Elisa,” Joseph, Penny's assistant greeted her. He took the plate from her hands, and shoved a large white take out container into her hands. “I got the plate. Penny gave me orders to pass this to you and to tell you that you're to eat these before you go to bed.”. He raised his voice to match Penny's voice. “She's too skinny. She needs to eat more.”

Elisa laughed. “Okay, okay,” Elisa took the box. “Tell her thank you again, and I will make sure to eat again before bed.”

Joseph smiled and turned to place the plate in the industrial dishwasher.

Elisa left the Three Shots, feeling a little lighter.


	6. Chapter 6

Elisa caught Maria Chavez at the door to the station.

“Oh, this never bodes well,” Maria said anxiously. You're here early, on a day you don't work. Did something happen?”

“Everything's fine, Maria,” Elisa hurried to reassure her. 

“Okay,” Maria said, still looking anxious. “What's going on?”

“I just need to run something by you,” Elisa said. “But I need a closed door meeting.”

Maria nodded. 'Closed door’ was the term they had worked out between them as a way to indicate Gargoyle business. “Let's go to my office,” she said, leading the way.

Elisa waved to a few of the officers who called out greetings and followed Maria. Elisa shut, and as a precaution, locked the door behind her. Maria pulled the blinds and called to reception desk to request to not be disturbed.

“Sorry for all the precautions, Maria,” Elisa said apologetically.

“It is fine, Elisa,” Maria said. “Just be prepared. Every time we do this, rumors spread about some secret assignment that we are working on, or what kind of trouble you're in.”

“Seriously?” Elisa laughed.

“Opinions are split,” Maria shrugged. “Most are in favor of the secret assignment, but a good portion of them have a pool going on if you're going to be fired soon.”

“Great,” Elisa sighed, sinking into one of Maria's office chairs.

“You can't blame them,” Maria said. “We have been meeting like this fairly often lately, and neither of us talk about these meetings.”

“What kind of secret assignment could it be that no one else would know about?” Elisa wondered out loud.

“The popular opinion is that you are working with I.A., investigating someone or something in house.”

“Internal Affairs?” Elisa burst out. “I am trying to figure out if I should be flattered or insulted.”

“Just go with it,” Maria advised. “I am. Since that rumor started, everyone has been very productive.”

Elisa laughed. “I am sure.”

“So,” Maria said, all business now, her fingers interlaced on her desk top. “What brings you here and requesting a meeting?”

Once more, Elisa found herself explaining the situation. 

To her credit, Maria didn't react until Elisa was done. She had become somewhat immune to this side of Elisa's life since she was brought in as a clan ally five years ago. Now, if anything even vaguely odd happened in the city, Maria would barely blink.

She would go straight to Elisa, or contact the clan herself.

Maria looked at her goddaughter across the desk. Leaning back in her chair, she watched Elisa's face closely.

“What if I told you that changing shifts was not possible?”

Elisa sighed. “I am not just going to up and quit, but I was hoping that you would be able to work with this. This is something that I feel like I need to do, Maria, for several reasons.”

Maria nodded thoughtfully. “Have you spoken to your family yet?” 

“Not yet,” Elisa admitted. “I had a few other things to see to first.”

“Liam?” Maria guessed.

“First and foremost, I wanted to make sure I had a plan set up for him.”

“So Liam is taken care of.” Maria gave her an approving smile. “I shouldn't be surprised that you looked after Liam before yourself. I always thought you'd make a good mother.”

“Thanks,” Elisa ran an embarrassed hand through her hair. “It came as a shock to me.”

“You were always so sure that you were going to be a detective. So sure you would never get married and have a family.”

“Life had other plans.”

“Life has a way of throwing opportunity at us when we least expect it,” Maria said. “Alright. If this is something that you truly feel like you need to do, I can move you to the day shift. It will be tricky,” she warned. “It is still winter, so the days are short. I will try to work it out schedule wise, but I can only cover so much.”

Elisa nodded. “I am trying to set up a meeting with Matt. If he moves to day shifts, and we are still able to work together, he would be a big help.”

“Let me know, and I can shift you both over.” Maria said. “With the exception of training new recruits, I prefer to keep partners together.”

“Thank you.”

“I will start the process now,” Maria said, booting up her computer. “I am on shift until morning, so give me a call here when you are able to talk it out with Matt. I can make the transfer to days immediately, so just keep me in the loop.”

Elisa smiled. “Will do. Thank you, Maria.”

“Don't thank me,” Maria said briskly. “I am just glad you're taking the time to think this decision through and not just giving everything up. Moving you shifts is one thing. Losing one of my best detectives would be messy.” Maria started typing up the paperwork to change both Elisa and Matt from overnight shifts to days. “Now go, before the rumor mill really starts churning out there. Nothing worse than a full house of gossiping officers.”

Elisa laughed and opened the door. Immediately, the house suddenly got busy. People began talking just a little too loudly, shuffling papers and scattering from their little groups.

Elisa looked back at Maria and grinned wickedly. Loudly, so that others would be able to hear, she said, “Yes ma’am, I will have the full report to you as soon as possible. The employees who are stealing those office supplies will be reprimanded soon.”

Maria looked horrified for a moment before hanging her head in defeat. “Maza, get out.” She demanded. 

Elisa laughed and shut the door behind her.


	7. Chapter 7

Elisa had a similar talk with her parents after she left the station. 

They weren't thrilled at the idea of their daughter being a part-time Gargoyle, but they understood her need to do this thing.

Only Matt and the clan was left.

Matt had finally gotten back to her, and offered to meet with Elisa. Both he and Pamela would meet her at Three Shots before sunset.

She stopped at her home to spend a few hours with Liam and to get the hourglass amulet.

Skyler offered to bring Liam to the castle later, and to let Goliath know where she was.

Elisa thanked her, and out the door she went. Rather than drive her car, she opted to take a cab. One way or another, she would be going home with Goliath tonight. He would either carry her as a human, or she would be gliding under her own power as a gragoyle.

Matt was the last piece of the puzzle. Skyler had been right. She needed her partner in case things went sideways and to cover for her if she would have to disappear at odd times.

Similar to them working overnights together, but with one small alteration. She could not be in public when the sun went down. Especially when the days were still so short during the winter months.

She got to the restaurant about 15 minutes early, and was greeted by Penny. The Three Shots closed to the public at 9:00, but she stayed behind most nights to deliver meals to those who worked late within the Xanatos Enterprise building. 

“I can't believe that you are still here,” Elisa said. “When do you sleep?”

“I go home and take a power nap between the lunch and dinner rushes,” Penny replied with a grin. “Plus, I heard you were coming back tonight, and I was hoping to find out how things went.”

“Well,” Elisa looked at the half full dining room. “It went fine. I am meeting up with Matt and Pamela here, and everything will be decided tonight hopefully.”

“Ahh,” Penny looked appreciatively at Elisa. “It is good to include Pamela as well.”

Elisa shrugged. “Anything that affects Matt affects her too.”

“I will give you the small private room so that you will be able to talk.” Penny said, taking up three menus and leading the way. 

In the corner of the dining room was a small, inconspicuous door. The room beyond it held a long table that could seat up to ten people comfortably. Because of some of the more sensitive projects and deals that happened within the XE company, the room had been soundproofed so that business meetings could take place and not be overheard by the public. Elisa knew of the room and it's intended purpose, but had never been inside of it herself until now. 

In contrast to the dining room, the walls were a plain white. The table and chairs were more office like, and a projector with a retractable screen were mounted from the ceiling.

Perfect for any late night meeting that would enable people to attend and not miss a meal.

“No one has reserved this room for tonight,” Penny said. “But that often changes last minute. I will give you as much time as I can.”

“Thank you,” Elisa said.

“I will send the Bluestones in when I see them.” Penny placed the menus on the table. “Order whatever you want. My treat, and I will bring you some sopapillas with honey right away.”

Elisa laughed. “You're making me have to do extra exercise so I don't gain weight.”

Penny grinned. “I won't apologise for making sure you have good food.”

“And you shouldn't,” Elisa smiled back.

Penny left then, leaving Elisa alone in the room. 

For the first time that day, Elisa was alone with her thoughts. She placed the box holding the enchanted item on the table in front of her and stared at it.

Everything was falling into place. She could actually do this thing.

If Goliath agreed, by tonight, she could actually be a Gargoyle. Even if it was only for a little while. 

Or for a long time, if that was the decision.

She had to remain a human, at least until Liam was older. Out of high school, perhaps, but then…

Elisa shook her head. That was a long time to keep up the spell and hope she could maintain the secrets. Fifteen years was too long.

Possible, but too long.

She was getting ahead of herself.

She pulled herself back to reality just in time for Matt and Pamela to come through the door. They were smiling and laughing at something that Penny had said.

“Elisa!” Pamela greeted. “Thank you for the excuse to feed my spicy food craving.”

“Any time,” Elisa said with a smile. “How are you doing?”

“Ugh,” Pam said as she lowered herself gingerly into one of the swivel office chairs. “I am a human incubator. I can't get comfortable, and this child is completely nocturnal. He waits until I am trying to sleep, then goes into Acrobat mode.”

“Yikes,” Elisa said.

“I keep telling her that it's probably all that spicy food,” Matt said, teasingly. 

Pam stuck her tongue out at her husband. “You're not going to make me give up my Mexican food.”

Matt grinned down at her and gave her shoulders a squeeze. “I wouldn't dream of it.”

Elisa smiled at the back and forth between them. They were adorable, though she would never say so out loud and risk the wrath of Pregnant Pam.

They took a few moments, discussing the menu options before deciding on what to eat.

Penny delivered the promised sopapillas, and took their orders. Once they were alone again, Matt turned serious.

“What's going on, Elisa?”

Elisa told the pair about everything. The spell, the arrangements that had already been spoken about and made, her desire to activate the spell and their parts in the whole thing.

“Wow,” Pamela said, resting her hands on her extended belly. “That's amazing.”

“I thought so,” Elisa said. “But I still need to talk to the clan and Goliath was a little unsure about it last night.”

“Maybe he's afraid to pressure you into anything,” Pam said. “Men are like that. They don't want to admit that they want something, and have you resent him if you don't want or like it as well.”

“Hey,” Matt said, looking offended. “Mixed company.”

“We know,” Pamela said, winking to Elisa.

Elisa smiled. “Maybe. Either way, I wanted to get as much taken care of before I talked with him tonight.”

Matt looked thoughtful for a moment, “So, we’d be on the day shift, and I would be there to help cover the fact that you would be growing wings when the sun was not shining?”

“Pretty much,” Elisa shrugged. “Not very exciting, I know. The day shift is a lot slower than nights, so it would be less exciting, but…”

Pamela covered his hand with hers. “Stop torturing her,” she admonished. She turned to Elisa, “The truth is that he had been thinking about a time switch for the last week or so to be home to help with baby duty at night for the first few months.”

Matt rolled his eyes. “Sure. Take all my bargaining chips away.”

“What bargaining?” Pamela shot back. She turned back to Elisa, “He was afraid to leave you on nights with the possibility of having to get a new partner who wasn't a Gargoyle fan.”

Elisa turned on Matt. “You know I would have understood. I don't necessarily like working days, but I would have moved with you. Breaking in a new partner sucks, and we’ve been partners for almost seven years!”

Matt sighed. “I know that you would have, but I didn't want you to feel obligated to rearrange your life because of me.”

Elisa sent him a look. “You have gone above and beyond to adapt to my crazy life, Matt. After all the secrets, the cover-ups and the disappearances…” Elisa looked at the couple across the table. “Do you honestly think that I wouldn't support you for your family?”

“Well, I…” he blinked at her.

“Pam,” Elisa swung to the openly amazed woman, “Permission to smack your husband.”

“Uh,” Pam blinked. She had heard of Elisa’s sudden and firey temper, but had not been around to see it herself. Until now. “Permission granted,” she said, hesitantly.

“Now wait a… hey!” Matt said, surprised at the speed that Elisa reached out to smack him upside the back of the head.

“Seriously,” Elisa snapped. “After all that you have done for me, my family and the clan, you didn't want to ask me to switch shifts to help you? Because it might be an inconvenience? That kind of hurts, man.”

Matt sighed. “I'm sorry, Elisa, but I have never really thought that I have done anything as special as you're talking about.”

“Matt,” Elisa frowned at him, but more thoughtful than angry now. “You’ve gone above and beyond on more than one occasion. For example, a few years ago, when I lost my memory, how often did you sleep at the station? Forget to eat? Work overtime looking at maps and following up on tip after tip?”

Matt flushed in embarrassment. “I didn’t…”

“A lot,” Pamela said, cutting him off. “I had to drag him out of the station a few times to eat, sleep and shower.”

“See?” Elisa said. “I remember seeing you when you came to get me back that time. You looked like you hadn't been sleeping, and had lost like 30 pounds. You kept in contact with my family and the clan, keeping an eye out for them and keeping them in the loop. You didn't give up on me, and that meant the world to all of us. For that alone, I will help you in any way with anything, anytime.”

“Thank you, Elisa,” Matt said, still a little red in the face. 

“Anytime,” Elisa said, meaning it. “So… we’re moving to days?”

“Looks like it,” Matt grinned.

“Deal.” Elisa said. “The captain is waiting for our decision. Would you mind making the call?”

“Just as soon as we are done here,” he said.

“Yay!” Pamela said smiling. “Can we eat now?”


	8. Chapter 8

After eating and saying goodbye to the Bluestones, Elisa went up to the castle level.

She met up with Skyler, gave Liam a good evening snuggle, then went out into the courtyard to greet the clan.

She had missed their initial awakening, but she still managed to see them off on their patrols. Goliath, she knew, would cut his short, since she was not working tonight and so that he could spend a little extra time with both Liam and herself.

Elisa waved them off, and noticed that she wasn't the only one doing so. Skyler was smiling and waving Brooklyn off on his patrol as well.

Elisa kind of chuckled to herself at that one. She knew what was going on, and so did everyone else who had seen the two of them together. Brooklyn and Skyler, however, seemed more than a little oblivious. 

It had been a little over two years since there had been an attack on the castle that had left Skyler injured. A rogue group of half fae had tried to kidnap the Xanatos children in an effort to get Oberon’s attention. Skyler had hidden all of the children, human and Gargoyle alike, and refused to tell the halflings where she had hidden them. She had been beaten badly, leaving her with a broken arm, a broken leg and a spinal injury resulting in her being paralyzed from the waist down.

Brooklyn had been beside himself with worry over her.

Luckily for Skyler, she, herself, was part fae. She was the daughter of Phoebe, one of the triplet daughters of Oberon. Phoebe had visited Skyler in the hospital after she’d been injured so badly, and together with her sisters, had healed Skyler of all her injuries.

Skyler had been cured just in time to help end the battle that had raged atop the Aerie building. 

From the moment that the battle had ended, Skyler and Brooklyn had begun seeking out each other’s company. Both the human girl and Gargoyle had so little life experience, especially with the opposite sex, that what had begun as a friendship had obviously blossomed into something more even if they were not aware of it.

Elisa chuckled at the thought that she and Goliath may not be the only human and Gargoyle couple much longer.

If either of them ever decided to come clean about their feelings towards each other.

Together, the two females and Liam waved goodbye to the clan members as they took to the skies.

Elisa looked at her wristwatch. “We have a little bit before they come back.”

“I’ll take Liam to the nursery to play with Christopher for a while,” Skyler said, giving the little boy’s belly a tickle. “And maybe go down for a quick nap before they come back for the night.”

“Sounds like fun. I’ll join you,” Elisa decided. 

Liam cheered happily, holding his arms out to his mother. Elisa swooped him up into her arms and followed Skyler into the large interior room.

The nursery had a thick foam mat on the floor in colorful patches of primary colors. The walls had been whitewashed to brighten it up for to make up for the fact that it had no windows. Every corner held enough toys that made Elisa think that fox had walked into the F.A.O. Schwartz toy store and simply said that she wanted one of everything.

There were piles of stuffed animals, building blocks and a small bookcase with dozens of brightly colored children's books. In one corner was a television with three different game systems hooked up to it. Two racks, one on each side, held various games and movies to entertain the young ones.

Despite only having boys themselves, the Xantos’ had set up a corner with a kitchen set, complete with a bright pink Fisher Price dining table, a mountain of plastic food to be “cooked” and served, a tea set and a doll house, complete with specially made human and Gargoyle dolls. 

Brenna, Angela and Broadway’s daughter, was happily playing there now, having a tea party with a mixture of Gargoyle and human guests.

Conner, her twin brother, was building a city of towers with some building blocks. He loved to make large stacks of blocks, then knock them down like he was Godzilla. Complete with roars and tail swipes.

Christopher and Alex were sitting side by side, playing a racing game with cartoon characters, the light colors and music filling the room.

At Skyler's entrance to the room, all four children paused in their activities to look up.

“Skye!” Brenna called out, abandoning her tea party to run to her friend’s side. 

Skyler laughed, and gave the small winged girl a hug. “Hello Brenna. How are you doing tonight?”

“I’m having a party,” she said. “Wanna come?”

“I would be honored,” Skyler said, taking the small child’s taloned hand in hers.

Elisa smiled at the byplay. She lowered Liam to the ground, watching as his sturdy legs took him in a beeline towards Conner. Together, Conner and Liam built a city scape to rival Manhattan's own skyline.

The twins were still too young to join in the adults patrols, but had been starting to get gliding lessons from their parents. Elisa knew they were looking forward to the day they could go gliding on their own, but she understood the clan’s trepidation.

Back in their original time, the twins would have already been out and gliding under their own power around the castle. They wouldn't be able to join the fighting, but they would be in training.

In this time, the castle was so much higher off the ground, so any mishaps in the air would be devastating. There were more enemies with more advanced weapons who would like nothing more than to get a hold of a Gargoyle, and while the twins were strong for their size, they would be no match.

The children were the first for the clan in over a century, and they were being watched over closely. Every clan member felt responsible for their well being, and each had a hand in teaching them in their areas of expertise.

Conner was interested in learning the old ways, the stories and the fighting styles from Hudson. He was already showing signs of being a good warriors and protector.

Brenna was already showing signs of being more tech savvy. She loved to hang out with Lexington, learning about the computers, technology and the more modern ways of this time. 

Different as night and day, Elisa mused, but both would be grow to be amazing additions to the clan. One to preserve the old ways, and one to embrace the new.

Alex Xanatos, one of the few half fae to retain his powers after the halflings attack, was growing up to be a handsome young man. Having grown up around the Gargoyles and magic, he was already very aware that there was more to the world around him than the walls of the castle. He was a smart, caring boy, and even at his young age, he was fiercely protective of his family and those who resided within these walls.

Christopher showed no signs of having any kind of magical abilities, much to his dismay. However, he had inherited his parents intelligence and had already shown interest in the business side of things, enjoying the time he got to spend in the offices with his parents during business hours.

Then there was her Liam. Not born of Gargoyle or Fae, he was truly the only human in the room. No less important, especially in her eyes, he was destined to be someone special. He had survived the first few months of life with a drug addicted mother, seemingly mistreated and malnourished when Elisa had found him. He was growing up as the adopted son of a multiple species household. He was bright, energetic and had a good set of instincts on who was friend or foe. He loved the clan, but had already come to understand that he was not to reveal his relationship with the clan.

Hopefully that would change someday, but for the time being, he would talk about his father, aunts and uncles, but not reveal that they were anything other than human.

Elisa walked to the oversized rocking chair beside the nook case and just sat for a moment, watching this eclectic group of children. 

They were the future, Elisa thought. Each with their own talents, gifts and interests. But together, they would protect what was theirs with a ferocity that made Elisa almost pity anyone who stood in their way.

“Aunt 'Lisa?” A small voice shook her from her thoughts.

She looked down into the face of Christopher Xanatos. He was holding one of his favorite books. “Can you read this with me?”

Elisa smiled and brought the little boy onto her lap. “What do you have there?” She took the oversized hard backed book and read the title. “Alice in Wonderland,” Elisa read.

Moments later, she was surrounded by all five children, as she read about Alice falling down the rabbit hole into an unfamiliar place.

The relation to her own situation was not lost on her.


	9. Chapter 9

“Wait,” Fox said, holding her hand up in the universal stop sign. “Alex,  _ my _ Alex, gave you what?”

Elisa sighed. The clan would be back any minute now, and she had just spoken with both Fox and David about what her plan was. She hadn't realized that neither Alex nor Owen had spoken to them yet.

“Don't blame Alex,” Elisa rushed. “He overheard Goliath and I talking, and gave me an amazing gift.”

Fox sighed. “I am going to have to talk with him about the eavesdropping on adult conversation thing. Again.”

“That being said,” David placed a caring hand on his wife's shoulder, “you are sincerely thinking about doing this?”

“I am,” Elisa said firmly. “I spent the day taking care of some things, and all that's left is to talk to Goliath and the clan.”

“Well,” Fox said with admiration. “No one will ever accuse you of not being prepared. You sincerely never sit still when you get an idea in your head, do you?”

“I can't,” Elisa admitted. “An occasional vacation is nice, but inactivity drive me a little bit crazy.”

“No kidding,” David snarked, a familiar grin creasing his face. “I have seen that one first-hand.”

“You deserved it,” Fox said with a smile. “We both brought the Maza wrath down on ourselves a time or two.”

Elisa rolled her eyes. “The Maza Wrath?”

“Even in our former nefarious circles, you are well known as a force to be reckoned with.”

“Great,” Elisa said.

“That's not necessarily a bad thing,” Fox said. “It makes some people think twice about starting anything in Manhattan.”

“Of course, now that you're going to day shifts…” David trailed off.

“Don't even joke about that,” Fox warned.

“Alright,” he said, slinging a companionable arm over his wife's shoulders.

The familiar sound of the clan landing on the stone courtyard met their ears, heralding the clan’s return. Elisa turned to join the group outside, pulling her red coat close to her body in defense against the chill in the air.

“Hey guys,” Elisa called out. “How did it go?”

“All quiet,” Broadway said. “How is everything here?”

“The same,” Elisa admitted. “The kids are all in the playroom, having the time of their lives. We read Alice in Wonderland, and now they're watching the Lion King and singing along at the top of their lungs.”

“Oof,” Angela winced in sympathy. “Poor Skyler.”

“Who do you think started it?” Elisa asked with a laugh. “She's even choreographing a dance for them to ‘Hakuna Matata’.”

The clan exchanged a glance before Brooklyn spoke up with a laugh of his own. “This I have got to see,” he said, leading the cheerful group back inside.

“I think I am going to go sit these old bones down,” Hudson said. “See what is on the television tonight.”

Elisa waved to him, before turning to her husband. “So, quiet night, huh?”

“Yes,” he answered. “The cold seems to have kept most people inside tonight.”

“It happens like that sometimes.” Elisa said with a shrug.

“You were not home when I woke this evening,” Goliath said, a small frown crossing his features. “Did something happen?”

“No,” Elisa said. “I just had some things to take care of.” Elisa sat on a stone bench, and patted the seat beside her, encouraging him to be seated.

“I spoke to a bunch of people today, making arrangements for moving to days and making sure that Liam would be taken care of.”

Goliath blinked at her, surprised. “I thought you wanted to think about it.”

“I did, but,” Elisa shrugged. “I guess I just got overly excited. I really want to do this, Goliath, and I hope that you do, too.”

“Elisa,” he took her hands in his, looking deeply into her eyes. “I love you, my Elisa, and if this is something that you truly want…”

“It is,” Elisa said hurriedly.

“Then I am here to support you,” he said with a smile. “And I will always be here to catch you.”

Elisa smiled at the familiar phrase. He had said that a long time ago, and it remained true to this day.

“You seemed really hesitant about it, so I didn't want to do it without talking to you, but if you agreed,” Elisa pulled the jewelry box from her coat pocket, “I wanted to be prepared.”

“To see you as a Gargoyle again, to have you able to glide beside me,” Goliath said softly. “It would be wonderful, but I did not want to pressure you into doing something that you were not certain of. To know that you want to do this, to make this choice, it means a great deal. But Elisa,” Goliath placed a hand against her cheek, “should you choose to remain human, I will still love you. Just as I do now.”

“That means a lot to me, too, Big Guy.” Elisa leaned in to give him a kiss. “Would you help me put this on?” She asked, handing him the box.

Elisa removed her prized red leather coat, her boots, and turned her back to him.

Goliath gingerly took the delicate necklace from it's resting place, the hourglass dangling and glinting in the moonlight. Gently, he placed it around her head, and lifted her hair from beneath the chain.

“I wonder how fast it will…” Elisa trailed off as she felt the odd sensations begin. It wasn't pain, but like her body was tingling. It felt like the circulation returning to a limb that had been cut off, but it was everywhere at once. 

Elisa grimaced at the discomfort. “Okay, that was…” she drifted off at the expression on Goliath's face. “What?”

He reached out to take her hand, raising it for her inspection. It was her hand, but it was a Gargoyle’s taloned hand that met her gaze.

“Whoa,” Elisa breathed. She took a cautious step forward, marvelling at her new form. 

She had vague memories of the only other time she had spent as a Gargoyle. At that time, her new form had just made sense being that part of Puck's spell had given her the memories of always being one. 

This time, however, she was struck with a wave of vertigo as her whole center of gravity changed. She felt heavier, somehow, and stumbled a few steps.

Instantly, Goliath was at her side, one arm wrapped around her waist to steady her.

“Thanks,” Elisa said, breathless. “I guess this is going to take some getting used to.”

“Luckily,” Goliath said with a grin. “You have plenty of help.”. He guided her back to the bench, and helped her to sit, narrowly avoiding sitting on her tail.

“Wait here,” he said, and entered the castle. 

Elisa sat, testing out her muscles and learning how everything moved now. It was just different enough to be disconcerting. She moved to shrug her shoulders, and her wings lifted.

Jesus.

She had wings!

Yeah. She had some adjustments to make.

A few minutes later, Goliath walked back through the door, leading the rest of the clan behind him.

“What's the big emergency, Goliath?” Brooklyn asked from behind his leader. 

“My fault guys,” Elisa called out from where she was sitting.

“Elisa what…” Brooklyn, second in command of the Manhattan clan, froze in his tracks. Slack jawed, he caused all of the others who had been following him to either collide with him or trip over themselves to avoid hitting anyone else.

Amidst the grumbles and exclamations of the clan, one by one they fell silent as they caught sight of Elisa.

Angela, being the only one who had not seen Elisa's Gargoyle form before, took the longest to realize what she was looking at.

Or, rather,  **_who_ ** she was looking at.

“Oh my Gods,” she exclaimed.

Predictably, the clan who  _ had _ been there the first time started looking for the threat.

“What’s going on?” Angela asked, alerted by the others actions.

“Stand down, guys,” Elisa laughed. “This time was on purpose.”

“On purpose, lass?” Hudson asked, not sounding convinced.

“You didn't tell them?” Elisa asked Goliath.

“No,” Goliath said, a definite twinkle in his eyes.

“You have a weird sense of humor sometimes,” Brooklyn said.

“Would someone tell me what's going on?” Angela ground out angrily.

“Elisa was turned into a Gargoyle once before,” Broadway said, placing a calming hand on her arm. “It was a spell, and it only lasted one night.”

“It was Puck,” Elisa said. “He was given the order to get rid of the humans in general. Me in particular.”

Angela closed her eyes and sighed. “Now I realize why you never told me this story.” She opened her eyes and looked at her father. “It was Demona, wasn't it?”

“It was,” Goliath admitted, hesitant to add more animosity towards Demona by their daughter, but unable to avoid it in this instance. “Puck, being the trickster that he is, intentionally misinterpreted the demands made of him. He was supposed to get rid of the humans, and turned all humans into Gargoyles. Puck was then supposed to turn the Gargoyles human, and he did. He turned the clan into humans.”

“What?” Angela demanded. She turned and eyed the clan thoughtfully. “I wonder what they looked like.”

“Our memories had been messed with, as well,” Elisa admitted. “For me, I had memories of always being a Gargoyle, so I was able to move around without trouble. This time, not so much.”

“Ye still have nae told us how ye ended up like this again,” Hudson reminded Elisa.

Goliath placed a hand on her shoulder. “We were given a token,” Goliath said calmly. “At our anniversary party. It gave Elisa the chance to be in a Gargoyle form at night and a human during the day.”

“Alex gave me this amazing necklace,” Elisa held the necklace out from her body for the others to see. “It let's me be both forms until I choose one to be permanently.”

“You mean, you could be a Gargoyle all the time?” Angela's face brightened, then sank, “That would be amazing but, what about…” Angela drifted off, looking back at the castle.

“What about Liam?” Elisa asked, knowing what the young mother was thinking.

“Yeah,” Angela said softly. 

“I will be moving to the day shift for work and Skyler will be watching him then, like normal. At night, she will bring Liam here, to the castle so that he can spend time with us all together before and after the evening patrols.”

“Okay, then,” Lexington said with a smile, hopping up on the bench beside Elisa. “It looks like we have some work to do to make you ready for patrols.”

“Alright,” Elisa said, standing up from her seat. There was a thudding sound beside her, and she looked down. Lexington lay at her feet, blinking up in surprise. Elisa cringed. “Sorry.”

“Lesson number one,” Brooklyn said, crossing his arms and shaking his head, “is wing and tail awareness.”

Elisa just stood there, afraid to move.

“Actually,” Goliath said, taking one of Elisa's hands in his. “There is one thing I would like to do first.”

“What…” Elisa trailed off as Goliath gestured to the parapets. She smiled hugely then. “Really? Even though I can't work my wings yet?”

“There's really one way to learn,” Brooklyn called to her as she hurried to keep up with Goliath. 

“Like baby birds learn how to fly,” Lexington called up to them.

“Yeah,” Broadway added with a mischievous grin. “The parents push it out of the nest.”

“Wait,” Elisa gasped. “What?”

Goliath chuckled and tugged her off of her feet and into the night sky over Manhattan. 

Elisa couldn't help herself, and let out a startled shout. 

Goliath briefly tightened his hand on hers.

Elisa realized that her hand had been in his this whole time, and not only had she not felt any kind of tugging as if she were falling away from him, but seemed to be keeping on the same level.

Fright had caused Elisa time tighten up her muscles. The result of which had extended her wings. She was soaring under her own power.

Of course, once she realized this, she began to waver in the air.

Goliath tightened his grip on her hand just as another hand grabbed Elisa's free one.

Elisa looked over to see Angela at her other side.

“Tighten up your back muscles again,” Angela encouraged. 

Elisa took a calming breath and tightened up as if she were trying to press her shoulder blades together. The action caused her wings to extend once more, and she felt the wind catch once more.

A glance behind her showed the rest of the clan. They were smiling, enjoying the chance to glide with their friend and teach her how to fly. 

They surrounded her, Brooklyn taking the lead, the others completing a ring around Elisa, and she realized that they were not only supporting her, but it was for protection as well.

They glided around a small area of the city, most of it still lit and decorated for Christmas. Several of the buildings were lit in bright reds and greens.

They gently guided her over the tree and ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center, and Elisa marveled at the sight. 

Over the years that she had known the clan, she had seen the city from above many times. She had seen the famous site below around Christmas, and while it was beautiful as always, there was something different about this time.

This time she wasn't being carried.

She was actually able to glide about on her own.

**_Sort of,_ ** Elisa thought, squeezing her hands on both Goliath and Angela's supporting grips.  **_Thank you, my friends._ **

All too soon, the clan turned and returned to the castle. Goliath coached her on the best way to angle her wings to catch an updraft, and up they went.

As one, the clan landed in the courtyard. Elisa stumbled a bit at the sudden stop, but avoided falling on her face.

She simply couldn't help herself, and laughed. “That was better than I remember!”

Goliath chuckled. “You did not even know you could glide with your wings last time.”

“True,” Elisa said. “But I did get to glide on my own once that time.” From the top of a building to the ground below. To stop Demona, who had been attacking the clan. 

Elisa didn't mention that part, however.

Angela, once upon a time, had truly wanted a relationship with her mother. Demona had been suspiciously quiet lately, but Elisa didn't want to fan any flames of discontent between the two females.

Demona had done that enough on her own.


	10. Chapter 10

Brooklyn found Skyler in the small bedroom next to the “guest” nursery. Liam had gone down for his nap, and Skyler was taking the time to read one of her favorite books. Historical romances were a guilty pleasure of hers, and she was firmly engrossed in the world of ‘Whitney, My Love’.

A soft knock on the door frame had her glancing up.

She was expecting Elisa, but was pleasantly surprised to see that it was Brooklyn. 

“Am I interrupting?” He asked softly, aware that Liam was asleep next door. 

“No,” Skyler hurried to reassure him. “Come on in. Liam went to sleep about fifteen minutes ago, so I have plenty of time to talk.”

Brooklyn smiled, and entered the small room.

“So,” Skyler grinned, “How was Elisa’s first flight?”

He blinked at her. “You already knew?”

“She talked to me about it,” Skyler admitted. “I wasn't sure if she would do it or not, but since everyone disappeared, I assumed she went ahead and got the spell started.”

“Yeah,” Brooklyn said. “She did activate the spell.” He took a seat on the day bed next to Skyler. “She did fine, but it will probably be another day or two before she can glide under her own power. Longer than that before Goliath will let her go out alone.”

“And how long before he lets her go out on a patrol?” Skyler asked with a grin. 

“Uh, alone?,” Brooklyn thought for a moment. “Probably never.”

“That's what I thought,” Skyler laughed.

“Hey, uh, Skye?” Brooklyn began. “May I ask you something?”

“Sure,” she replied.

“If it was you who had the chance to use a similar spell, would you do it?”

She blinked at him. She hadn't really expected the question, nor had she really thought of it herself. “I… hmmm,” she hesitated, and thought about it. “I am not sure. As a temporary thing, just for the experience, I might have,” she admitted. “But for long term?” She shrugged. “I am in a whole different situation than Elisa. I don't really have anyone who would miss me if I just… disappeared. The  _ human _ me, I mean,” she hurried to add. “But I would miss my time during the day with Katie and Liam.”

“Oh,” Brooklyn said, looking a little disappointed, despite his best efforts.

“I am not saying that I would never give it a try if offered the chance,” Skyler hurried to add. “I think it would be fun for a few days, but to actually have to choose?” She shrugged again. “All I have ever been is human, so I'm not sure what I would do. What about you?”

He looked surprised at having the question aimed at him. “I think I would like to try it, being a human,” he admitted. “There are things I would miss, but there are things I would like to do or see that I can't as a Gargoyle.”

Skyler looked at him curiously, but waited patiently for him to continue.

“For instance, I have never actually seen the sun,” he said, shyly. “I have seen pictures and movies, but once daylight hits, we’re stone. Goliath saw it, once,” Brooklyn said with a wistful smile. “He, Elisa and Angela got a hold of the Eye of Odin, and it gave Goliath some kind of superpower.”

“Wait,” Skyler held up a hand. “The Eye of Odin? As in Thor’s dad and god in mythology?”

“That's the one,” he said. “Goliath was able to do a whole bunch of stuff, like control the weather, but it also gave him the ability to be awake during the day. He said it was really bright and warm.”

“I guess I never really thought about it,” Skyler admitted. “With you never having seen the sunlight, how can I describe it for you?”

Brooklyn shrugged. “I got to be a human, once,” he admitted. “The same night Elisa got to be a Gargoyle the only time before tonight. No tail, no wings,” he shook his head. “It was weird.”

Skyler kept thinking about the sunlight thing. She might never get a chance to fly like Elisa with her own wings, but she might be able to think of something that would help Brooklyn.

Suddenly, a plan started to form. She would need some help, but it might just work.


	11. Chapter 11

Elisa was standing with Goliath on his tower of the castle when the sun rose that morning. 

He turned to stone, she walked away a human. She gathered her coat and shoes from where they had been placed in the courtyard. 

She shivered as she put on the cold coat and shoes.  **_Mental note_ ** , she thought to herself, “ **_coat and shoes go inside before taking off all night._ ** ”

She gave an involuntary shiver as the icy cold of the coat and shoes began to affect her.

She gathered up both Liam and Skyler, and hailed a taxi that would take them home. She felt bad that she had barely spent time with Liam, but had been afraid of his reaction. They would introduce him to the idea slowly, and hopefully he would take to the idea.

Once inside her condo, she checked her machine for messages. There was one from her mother, wanting to know if she had decided to activate the spell, and how it went. 

The second message was from Captain Chavez. Her move to day shifts was active beginning immediately. Her shift was to begin at 10 am that morning. She apologized for not being able to give her an extra day to sleep and re-adjust to her new life schedule.

It was fine with Elisa, honestly. She felt energized, almost as if she had slept the entire time she had been in her new form.

Maybe that was going to be a new thing. She would never have to sleep again. One form would “rest” while she was in the other, and so forth. She’d never thought to ask about that one, and it wasn't like she could approach Demona about it.

Of course, she may just still have the adrenaline rush from last night keeping her amped up. Who knew?

She gave Liam a kiss goodnight, and said goodbye to Skyler.

Then it was off to work her first day shift in a long time.


	12. Chapter 12

Skyler was both exhausted and excited.

It had taken all day, several calls, and asking for a few favors from everyone's favorite billionaire, but the arrangements were all made.

She hadn't expected to be able to pull this off so soon, but in less than 24 hours, it was ready to go.

Skyler dropped Liam off at the castle to hang out with the Xanatos kids under Fox’s watchful eye. Owen took her to the rented container on the wharf, placed half on the small strip of sandy beach and half in the water.

Owen had assured her that the arrangements had been made, everything was in place and Brooklyn would be given the message to meet her there as soon as he woke.

All she had to do was wait. Easier said than done. She really hoped that this worked.

Slowly, the sun faded from the sky. It was almost time.

About half an hour after the sun had gone down, she spotted Brooklyn’s familiar figure coming towards her.

“Hey, Skyler,” he called out, “what's going on?”

“I have something to show you,” Skyler said shyly. 

Brooklyn looked confused, but followed as Skyler led the way to the old shipping container. 

She opened the door with a rusty creak and motioned him inside. 

In the darkness, lit only by the docks lights outside, he could make out a pair of beach chairs.

“Have a seat.” She said with a grand gesture.

“Okay,” he said, and gingerly lowered his weight into the chair, surprised when he felt it sink a little into the sand underneath.

“Ready?” Skyler called.

“Uh,” he answered, “sure?”

She laughed and closed the door. She hit the switch inside, and the container was flooded with the light of four sun lamps that immediately began giving off heat as well as the light.

Momentarily blinded, Brooklyn covered his eyes. When he opened them, and was able to take in the scene in front of him, he was stunned.

The inside of the container had been covered in a tropical beach look. There were a few palm trees to his left and right, leading down to a sandy beach and the ocean in front. The actual floor of the container had been removed to allow the real water from outside to lap at the sandy area only a few feet from where his feet rested.

He lifted his face to the light, and marveled at the warmth. He just sat like that, content to feel the warmth of the artificial sunlight, listening to the sound of the water as it lapped against the sand at his feet, and the faint sound of the water slapping faintly against the metal container from outside of the tropical appearing Haven that Skyler had created just for him.

He opened his eyes and took in the scene that she had created. The warmth, the light, the day time beach scene. It couldn't have been easy, that was for sure, and in such a short time…

His chest felt tight at the sudden rush of emotion that filled him. He had grown close to Skyler over the last two years. When he had feared her lost after the halfling battle, he had felt a sense of loss that had not experienced since he had awoken centuries ago to find his clan dead and gone, and it had scared him.

Brooklyn had felt a connection with her,sure. She was an amazing friend, and a trusted ally of the clan. She had even sought him out quite often, and he had been afraid to think of her in any way other than friendship.

He had thought himself in love a few times, and had felt the heartbreak when those few females had rejected him in favor of others. Both in his original time and now.

He had come to realize that it had been mostly loneliness. It had felt like everyone around him had found someone. A mate. A partner.

He did not want to have to experience that again, so had convinced himself that the clan was all the family that he needed. 

Until Elisa and Goliath, he had never even entertained the thought of having a relationship with a human.

Now, however, in the presence of this young woman, he felt that maybe…

“Skyler?” He began hesitantly. “Thank you for this.”

Her smile shone brilliantly as she took the seat next to him. “You are more than welcome.”

She reached out his hand across the small space between the chairs, and he took it firmly in his.

With a sigh, content to sit like that, he leaned back and reveled in the light, warmth, and the gentle hand in his.


	13. Chapter 13

It was their second night, and Elisa felt like she was finally getting a handle on how to control her wings for gliding. Goliath was still by her side, in case of mishap or unexpected updrafts, but he no longer had to hold her hand to help her along.

They returned to the castle after a short flight, so that the clan could go on patrols. They were one member short, being that Skyler had requested Brooklyn's presence for the night, so Elisa had opted to stay at the castle and help with the children.

Liam had initially been afraid of his mother in her Gargoyle form, but once he had figured out that it was actually Elisa, he had calmed down and actually seemed to enjoy having both parents able to take him out for short flights.

He proudly announced that he had the best mom and dad ever.

They had finally convinced him that he couldn't tell people about mommy's other form, just as he couldn't tell about who or what his daddy was. Liam hadn't looked happy, but at least he still had some people he could talk to. He had the Xanatos family, his grandparents, his aunt Beth and Uncle Talon.

All in all, he had taken it a lot better than Elisa had expected.

She entered the nursery, and joined Angela where she had been seated, having an impromptu tea party with Brenna.

“Is there room for one more?” Elisa asked.

“”Yes!” Brenna said happily. She whirled around to make more “tea” in her small pot.

Elisa sat, and gave an involuntary wince as she sat a little too quickly.

“Ah,” Angela said, catching the movement. “Sat on your tail?”

“Yeah,” Elisa admitted, a little embarrassed. “Still not used to not being able to just  _ sit _ .”

“It will come in time,” Angela said confidently. 

“I hope so,” Elisa said with a laugh. 

After the first night, she had learned that she was going to have to invest in a lot of jeans, or begin wearing skirts. Her favorite pair now had a large hole in the back from suddenly sprouting a tail that no amount of tailoring would be able to fix. 

Tonight, she was wearing the same jeans that she had cut off at the knees for movement’s sake. Her shirt fared little better that first time, thanks to the wings, but she had invested in an area of wide, boat neck shirts that allowed for the wings without ruining any more of her favorite tees.

She sat in the nursery for a while, keeping up a steady conversation with Angela and Brenna, while keeping an eye on the four boys as well.

When Liam looked ready for his nap, Elisa moved to get up from her position on the floor.

The sudden movement caused the world to spin around her so quickly that she stumbled.

Angela was instantly on her feet, holding Elisa steady.

“Are you okay?” She asked quietly, concern radiating in her tone, but obviously not wanting to alert the kids that something was wrong.

“I’m fine,” Elisa said quietly. “Just a little dizzy for a moment, that's all.”

“If you are sure…” Angela trailed off, unsure herself.

“I am,” Elisa said firmly. The moment had passed, and she felt fine now. “I am going to take Liam to his room for a nap, and I will be right back.”

“Okay,” Angela said, cautiously. 

Elisa picked up the sleepy boy, and took him down the hall to the nursery. Once in the familiar toddler bed, Liam grabbed the blue fleece blanket and curled up. He popped his thumb in his mouth, and was asleep moments later.

Elisa gently removed the thumb from his mouth, and tucked the warm fuzzy blanket around him before leaving the room.

She quietly shut the door and began back down the hallway.

“Elisa,” a voice called from behind her.

Startled, Elisa whirled around. She stopped moving, but the hallway didn't.

“Whoah,” Fox said, trying to catch Elisa. In her Gargoyle form, she was a good deal heavier than a human, so all she could do was to slow Elisa’s descent and help her to sit on the floor.

Elisa landed with a thud, but her limbs felt suddenly weak, so she wasn't able to fully stop the collapse. She did remember to swing her tail out of the way this time, however, so she didn't have that to deal with.

“Jesus, Elisa,” Fox said with a huff. “I didn't realize that you would weigh that much.” Fox stood up and rotated her shoulders. 

“Sorry,” Elisa mumbled, trying to get her bearings.

“What's wrong?” Fox asked, frowning in concern.

“No idea,” Elisa admitted. “I think I just turned too fast. Got a little light headed.”

“A little?” Fox repeated with an unconvinced sigh. “I'm going to call Dr. James. He doesn't have a lot of medical experience with Gargoyles, but he might be able to tell us what's going on with you.”

“I’m fine,” Elisa insisted.

“Fine,” Fox said. “Bend over, touch your toes and stand back up without falling over, and I’ll leave you alone.”

Elisa sighed and started bending over, but stopped when she started feeling light headed. Slowly, she straightened up.

“That’s what I thought,” Fox said in her best “mom” voice. “Let’s go.”

Admitting defeat, Elisa agreed.


	14. Chapter 14

Elisa was firmly placed in an exam room by Fox and told strenly not to move.

Elisa was leaning back against the exam table when Fox returned with the confused doctor following behind her.

“I didn’t even know that Elisa was here tonight. What happened..” He trailed off, spotting the Gargoyle in the room.

A Gargoyle who looked like…

“Elisa?” He burst out. “What…”

“Long story, doc,” Elisa said with a sigh. 

He chuckled. “With you, it’s always a long story. So… uh… Wow.”

Elisa smiled at him. Dr James had seen her at her worst, but for the most part he had always seemed unflappable. He was cool under pressure, and that’s what made him such a brilliant doctor.

It was nice to know that someone was still able to surprise him.

Even if it was her.

“So,” Dr James said, seeming to get a hold of himself once more. “What can I help you with?”

“I got a little lightheaded earlier,” Elisa said with a shrug.

“She almost passed out in the hallway,” Fox said. 

“That too,” Elisa said reluctantly.

Dr James ran a hand through his hair, frowning in thought. “Honestly, I’m not sure what I can help with. I haven’t examined any of the clan, so assuming human stats are different from Gargoyle ones, I would have nothing to compare her to.” He turned to Fox, “Is Angela here, by any chance? If she’s willing to come and help, I could write some basics down and use them to try to help.”

“I’ll go find her,” Fox said, heading for the door.

“She was playing with the kids in the nursery,” Elisa called after her.

“Well, we have time,” Dr James said, mimicking her stance and leaning against the table beside her. “How about you tell me about this new and interesting development.”

Elisa rolled her eyes, but told him everything that happened from the moment she’d been given the bespelled amulet.

She just finished describing how she’d become light headed in the hallway and Foxes toe touching challenge when Angela strode into the room.

“Elisa? Fox said you were here and that I could help somehow.” She said with a concerned look on her face. 

“Yes,” Dr James said, straightening up. “I need someone to compare Elisa to, so I can see if anything is wrong.”

Angela nodded. “Of course. What do you need?”

“Let’s start with the basics,” the doctor suggested. Dr James gathered up a notepad and pen, then began running through a list of basic tests. Heart rate, blood pressure and reflexes.

After he finished, he repeated the tests on Elisa. By the end of it, he was frowning.

“How long have you been like this?” he asked briskly.

“Two days,” Elisa said. 

“And you had no problems yesterday?” 

“No,” Elisa said, frowning herself now. “I was fine.”

“Comparing you to Angela, your blood pressure is extremely low,” Dr James said, sitting on the small backless chair that all doctors seemed to use. “And your heart rate is elevated. That being said, your blood pressure is normal for a human. If that’s normal, I am worried that even though your exterior is that of a Gargoyle, your internal organs haven’t changed with the rest of you. Your heart is working harder because there’s more of you.”

“That sounds dangerous,” Angela said softly. 

“It could be,” Dr James admitted. “Your heart can’t keep working this hard for long, Elisa. You said that you return to being human when the sun comes up?”

“Yes,” Elisa said softly.

“I would like you to meet me here after sunrise, and I can do these tests again. I am concerned.”

“Alright,” Elisa agreed. “I will come back here after the sun comes up.”

The two females returned to the elevator in silence. 

“Elisa…” Angela started.

“Don’t tell your father,” Elisa blurted out.

“But Elisa,” Angela tried again.

“If what Dr James thinks is true, and the tests come out how he thinks they will, then we will have to make the decision sooner than we had hoped,” Elisa said. “I am going to wait until I talk to Dr. James in the morning before I talk to Goliath.” She turned to look into the worried eyes of her stepdaughter. “I thought we would have a lot of time like this. Time to be together in the same form for a while. If it turns out that this is all we have, I want one more night. One more,” Elisa insisted. “Then we will make the choice together. But I don’t want our last night together to be like this.”

Angela looked like she wanted to argue, but knew how important this had been to Elisa and her father. “Alright,” she agreed reluctantly. “But no flying. Nothing strenuous that would hurt you. Please?”

Elisa nodded. “I suppose falling out of the sky would be a bad thing,” She smiled sadly. “Thank you for your help, Angela.”

“If what the doctor said is right, and your heart is being hurt by this,” Angela said insistently. “I want you to break the spell. Goliath fell in love with you. Staying a human wouldn’t change the fact that he loves you.”

“I know,” Elisa said. “I think I knew that from the beginning. I just had to kind of...not test it out, really. I just wanted to see if either of us would feel differently. Really, we’re still just...us.”

Angela embraced her friend tightly. “I love you, Elisa. I just want you to be happy and safe.”

“I know,” Elisa said, holding her stepdaughter close. “I want the same for you. We’re family, no matter what form we take, right?”

“Right,” Angela said, nodding once, emphatically.

“So, no telling your dad, okay?” Elisa begged softly. “One more night before it all changes.”

“One more night,” Angela agreed, hoping that she didn’t regret it.

  
  


\----’--@

Elisa went to the library. If she couldn't do anything strenuous, she at least wanted to spend her remaining time as a Gargoyle in a place where Goliath wouldn't question it. The library was a quiet place for them. A place of their own, where they could sit, talk and just be together. 

She didn't want to tell him and have him worry. She didn't want their last night together like this to be full of sadness and regret.

Goliath joined her a short time later, and they cuddled up on the couch. She talked him into reading some of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, a play that held a whole new meaning to her now that she had actually met some of the fae mentioned in it.

While she reveled in the closeness that she felt with him like this, she began to realize that it really wasn't that different from when she was human. She had lost sight of that in the excitement of being a Gargoyle.

When the sun rose, she stood atop The tower with him as his skin took on the stone hardness that protected him during the day.

She returned to her human form and reluctantly went inside the castle. She needed to change her clothes, and return to her human life again.

“Oh, Elisa!” Skyler burst out, almost running into Elisa as she entered the main hallway. “I am so sorry, but I ran a little late getting back to the castle. Liam’s asleep now, but I can bundle him up and we can go back to your place.”

“No,” Elisa said with a smile. “Go ahead and let him sleep here for the day. How did your surprise go?”

Skyler blushed.

“That well, huh?” Elisa laughed. “Why don’t you go ahead and grab the room next to his and sleep here. I’ll leave you my keys, and you can bring Liam home as soon as you’re both awake.”

“Are you sure?” Skyler asked, hesitant to take Elisa’s keys.

Elisa shrugged. “I have the day off, so I won’t need the car for work. I trust you with the car, and would feel better if you had it to bring Liam home in. I will catch a cab.”

“Thanks, Elisa,” Skyler said. “I’ll be careful with the car, I promise.”

Elisa shooed the girl off to the connecting rooms that were reserved for when Liam, Skyler and/or Elisa had to stay over. “Go. Get some rest, and I will see you at home later.”

Once Skyler was gone, Elisa felt her shoulders sag a bit.

It was time to meet with Dr James again.


	15. Chapter 15

“It’s normal,” Dr James said. “I’m sorry, Elisa. I was hoping I was wrong, for your sake.”

“No,” Elisa shook her head. “It will be fine. I came to the decision last night that I was going to have to make a choice sooner rather than later. I can’t cling to something like this if it puts my life at risk. I have too much to live for.”

Dr James smiled at her. “For what it’s worth, I was hoping that I was wrong about this.”

“You may have saved my life, Doc,” Elisa said. “I would have tried to ignore it.”

“How did Goliath take it?”

“I didn’t tell him,” Elisa admitted, fighting the urge to squirm under his suddenly disapproving gaze. “From the beginning, he said that he’d love me no matter if I were human or Gargoyle. I couldn’t break the spell until I was human again anyway, so why have him sad and worried if he didn’t have to be. I will break the amulet when I get home.”

“Where is it?” the doctor asked. 

“Locked up in my gun safe. I didn’t need to actually wear it except for the first night to activate the spell, and I didn’t want to accidentally break it until I’d made my choice.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “I can’t be sure that your problems wouldn’t clear up if you made the choice to be fully Gargoyle, but if it didn’t and we found out too late…”

“I understand,” Elisa said. 

“Go home and make your choice, Elisa.” the doctor encouraged her.

Elisa nodded and left the office.

\---’---@

Elisa left the building, hailing a cab. Once in the backseat, she fingered the amulet in her pocket. She didn’t really know why she’d lied to the doctor, especially since she had made her decision to break the spell. 

But she wanted to be alone when she did it. Irrational, but she needed to do it away from everyone else, in case she embarrassed herself and broke down crying. She’d had such high hopes for becoming a Gargoyle, and had felt like an actual member of the clan for a few days.

She would miss it.

With a deep sigh of regret, she fastened the chain around her neck, idly fidgeting with the small, magical hourglass before tucking the whole thing in her shirt.

Elisa was so caught up in her own thoughts that it took her a moment to realise that the cab driver had passed their turn.

“Hey,” she called out, irritated. “Hey! You should have turned back there!”

“We’re not going to your place,” came the voice of the female driver. 

“Ooookay,” Elisa drawled out. “Where are we going?”

“To this little place I know,” the driver said.

“Like hell,” Elisa spat out, reaching for the door handle.

Before she could wrench the door open, the door locks engaged, leaving Elisa trapped inside.

“On, no,” the driver said. “We can’t have that.”

Elisa tried to work the door a few more times before giving it up as useless. She tried engaging the driver in conversation, but that didn’t work well either, as the driver had suddenly decided to give her the silent treatment.

Elisa fumed until the driver turned into a parking structure, driving straight down to the basement level. Four men waited there, dressed all in black with facemasks.

Two men were on each side of the car before the driver disengaged the door locks. The men opened both rear doors at the same time and dove at Elisa.

She kicked, screamed and fought as best she could in the limited space of the backseat.

Finally, they got a hold of her arms and drug her half out of the car. A hypodermic needle was roughly pushed into her arm, and its contents went to work almost immediately. 

Elisa fought the men. 

She fought the drug. 

Despite it all, in a matter of moments, she was unconscious.


	16. Chapter 16

Elisa woke to find herself in a white room. Walls, ceiling and floor were all a blinding shade of fresh white that almost burned Elisa’s eyes under the harsh fluorescent lighting. Blinking rapidly, Elisa felt a measure of relief when her eyes finally adjusted enough for Elisa to make out shapes in the room.

It looked like a white washed, 3 foot by 5 foot prison cell. There was a toilet and small sink in one corner, and a metal framed bed along one wall. A large metal door was along the far wall, and a small white metal folding chair sat just inside the door. 

Everything was a sterile white color, except for the small mail slot sized opening in the door. Groggy and a bit unsteadily, Elisa got to her feet. She turned to place her palms against the wall to keep herself from falling. 

It was then that she felt the weight pulling against her arms. Looking down, she frowned at the large, steel bands that had been locked around her wrists. A heavy chain connected the two cuffs to each other, and a chain connected that chain that ran down to disappear in a hole in the cement floor.

Slowly, she lowered her head to the coolness of the painted cinder block wall. She couldn’t allow herself to panic. Not now. She had to think, and fast.

It was those damn quarrymen, she knew. Their distinctive red and black uniforms were easy to recognize, and she remembered seeing a pair of them running towards her just before blacking out.

What time was it? How long had she been here?

Elisa looked around again, realizing for the first time that there were no windows in her cell. 

She gritted her teeth, fighting the panic that was threatening to take hold. How close was sunset? How much time did she have?

Elisa began awkwardly searching her pockets, first one side then the other, but found that she had nothing. No ID, no communicator, even the change from her lunch yesterday was gone.

Straightening up from the wall, Elisa quickly patted herself down. No cell phone, but that was no big surprise. Her gun was missing as well. The quarrymen weren’t stupid, just reckless.

Damn. Her communicator was gone too.

Elisa could only hope that one of her captors had it here… wherever here was… and that they hadn’t turned it off. If it was on, someone might be able to track the signals to find her. 

Lexington would… 

No. It would have to be someone from the station. Lexington was still in stone sleep, and she couldn’t wait. Once the sun set, she would be in some real trouble.

With that thought, Elisa brought her hand to her throat. When she felt the lump under her shirt, she heaved a sigh of relief. At least they had left her amulet around her neck. It was just a piece of jewelry to them, so they probably wouldn’t have thought to take it from her.

Muffled voices came from outside. Elisa crept forward to try putting an ear to the door. She couldn’t make out what the voices were saying, but she could tell from the increase in volume that they were coming closer. Elisa moved to stand behind the door.

A heavy metal scraping sound heralded the lock being opened, and Elisa readied herself. Two voices cleared up as the door began to open. 

“...she should be awake soon,” A male voice was saying.

“The sedative should have worn off a little bit ago,” A female said matter of factly. 

The male stepped forward first. As he cleared the door, Elisa kicked the door as hard as she could. A cry of pain let Elisa know that she had caught the second person by surprise, and by the heavy thumping sound, Elisa was betting that this heavy door had hit her intended target. As the door slammed shut, she launched herself at the male. Clasping her fists together in the way that she’d learned from Goliath, she delivered an uppercut to the man, catching him under the chin and sending him flying backwards.

She’d had the element of surprise on her side, but she knew that her time was running short. Elisa ran to the downed man, trying to hurriedly search for any kind of key that would unlock her shackles.

“Looking for these?” A savage voice called to her. 

Elisa looked up to see a tall blonde woman, dangling a small keyring from her fingertips. Elisa ran at the woman, only to be brought up short as she ran out of chain. Elisa felt her shoulders cry out in protest at the sudden stop. She grabbed the chain and tugged in frustration.

The woman laughed harshly. “They told me that you would be difficult, and I must say that you have certainly lived up to your reputation. I am impressed.”

“Glad to hear it,” Elisa snarled.

“You just took out two of my people,” the woman stated. “I’m afraid that I can’t allow you to harm any more.” She reached out and hit some sort of switch just out of Elisa’s eyeline. 

Suddenly, Elisa felt herself being drug back towards the corner that she had woken up in. She followed the chain with her eyes, and saw that it was being retracted back into the hole in the floor. Her movement range was being shortened.

Finally, the chain stopped moving. Elisa estimated that she would have enough room to reach the bed on one side, and the toilet on the other. Roughly 3 feet worth of range from side to side.

Damn.

“Now,” the woman said, briskly. “I am sure that you’re wondering where you are, what’s going on, yadda yadda yadda.”

“That would be nice,” Elisa stated angrily.

The woman shrugged, tucking the keys back into her pocket. “I’m sure you already know what we are.” she said plainly.

“Quarrymen,” Elisa spat out. 

“Yes,” The woman said. “We’ve been keeping tabs on you for a few years now, after you were responsible for the arrest of our original leader.”

“Jon Canmore,” Elisa nodded. “I remember.”

“Of course,” the blonde said, smiling as if she were speaking at her prized pupil. “I imagine he would be hard for you to forget. At any rate, your constant contact with the monstrosities have not gone unnoticed. Even with our numbers, we have been unable to destroy them. You just keep getting in the way.” 

Gracefully, the woman sat in the metal chair and crossed her legs. She gestured towards the bed. “Please, have a seat.”

Feeling awkward just standing there, tired from the weight of the chains pulling at her arms, Elisa cautiously sat on the edge of the bed.

Once Elisa had taken her seat,zero the woman continued. “Now as I said, we have been observing you for quite some time. Until now, you have been a creature of habit. Go to work, stop at the Aerie building once or twice a day, go home. That's it.” She tilted her head, looking intently at the detective, reminding Elisa of a bird eyeing their prey. “Until recently. You changed to a day shift and you are rarely home, which is odd, since you have such a young son at home to take care of. 

“At first, we were wondering if you had come to your senses and cut your ties with the monsters, but then,” the woman gave Elisa a vicious smile, “a new female creature started appearing. One who strongly resembled you.”

“Really?” Elisa asked. “That's interesting.”

“We thought so,” the woman said. “After one of our people snapped a photograph of that female, we were interested enough to start keeping better tabs on you to see if we could get closer to the new female. What we got was a photo of you going into the Aerie building before sunset, the female creature wearing the same clothes flying away from the building a few minutes later. Then the female returning to the castle and you coming out after sunrise. Again, in the same clothes.”

“Maybe you need to get better people,” Elisa suggested mockingly.

“We came to the conclusion,” the woman continued as if Elisa hadn't said a word, “that somehow, you have found a way to become one of them.” 

Elisa blinked at her in surprise. “I don't know what you are…”

“Don't bother,” the woman snapped. She angrily got to her feet with such force that the chair went flying backwards. The clanging sound of the chair hitting the concrete floor rang loudly in Elisa's ears. “We want to know how you did it.”

“I don't…”

“Don't lie,” she snarled. “It won't matter soon anyway. We’ll have proof.”

“Proof?” Elisa asked, uneasiness creeping into her mind.

The woman raised her hand into the air and snapped sharply. As if waiting for just that signal, three men walked into the room, carrying varying sizes pieces of electrical equipment.

The woman continued speaking, her calm facade beginning to melt away. “These are just a few of our most loyal Quarrymen. They are going to be setting up video equipment to record when it happens. We will be hijacking all television waves to show the world just what a danger that these gargoyles are. That a human is able to change into one of them, choosing them over their own race.”

The men made short work of setting up the equipment. Two men left, leaving only one man to work the camera and the sound board.

“Think of this like a pre-show interview,” the woman suggested. “As soon as Martin gives us the signal, we will be live on the air and will remain as such until the sun goes down.”

“Really?” Elisa asked in her best bored and unimpressed voice. “And how long will that be?”

The woman looked at her watch. “Roughly five minutes until sunset.”

Elisa felt as if a cold fist had grabbed her heart and squeezed. There was no time. If no one was there to save her by now, there was no time to decide. 

She felt the weight of the amulet around her neck. She had hoped to have more time to make her decision. While the world knew of the Gargoyles now, magic was not a recognized concept. The mass panic that had happened when the Gargoyles had come into the world's eye had mostly died down. With the exception of the Quarrymen, most of the hate groups had faded into nothing. 

If Elisa were to change into a Gargoyle form, live on television, she was afraid of what would happen.

“Okay,” Martin said, attaching the last cord. “We will be live in thirty seconds.”

“Three minutes to sundown,” The woman said. 

“Ready in three, two, one,” Martin counted down. A red light on the camera lit, and the woman's calm demeanor snapped back into place. 

She took the handheld microphone, and posed for the camera. “Hello. My name is Michelle Paulson, and I am a high ranking officer within the Quarryman organization.”

Elisa stopped paying attention to Michelle as her brain whirled in a last ditch effort to find a way out of the situation.

“Now, let's have a word with the woman of the hour,” the woman said brightly. 

Out of time, Elisa reached to her neck and grabbed her necklace. With a quick jerk, Elisa pulled down sharply and broke the thin chain. Hiding the hourglass in her clasped hands in front of her, Elisa looked at the woman holding the microphone in her direction.

“Do you have anything to say to the public before they watch you transform before their eyes?” Elisa’s captor asked. 

“Just one thing,” Elisa said. She looked straight into the camera, “I just want to let my family know how much l love them. If you're watching, turn the TV off. I don't know what is about to happen, so please don't watch.”

Michelle turned back to the camera to say some more of her rhetoric.

With the tingling sensation creeping across her shoulders, Elisa knew she only had a few seconds before she would sprout wings and a tail. She took hold of the gold chain of her necklace, but swung the hourglass at the end to strike against the cinder block wall.

There was a faint thump and a nearly imperceptible cracking sound, and suddenly the magical sand from inside began to sift out of the amulet and to the ground.

The beautiful colors, once so vibrant inside of the magical glass, leached away until it was just a plain, brown sand.

Immediately, the tingling stopped. Elisa closed her eyes, taking a moment to mourn the loss of her Gargoyle form.

Then she opened her eyes and sent an unfriendly look towards Michelle. “Sorry to disappoint you.” Elisa said.

Michelle looked at her wristwatch in shock. “This isn't possible,” she said, glaring at Elisa. “What did you do?” 

“I still have no idea where you got the idea that I could magically transform,” Elisa said. 

“Damn you,” Michelle said, and angrily backhanded Elisa. 

Elisa saw it coming, and attempted to try to block it. Because of her placement and the chain length, Elisa couldn't raise her arms that far. Michelle's fist made contact with Elisa’s right cheek, sending her collapsing to the bed.

Michelle flew into a rage, and kept coming. 

Elisa was prepared now, and brought her legs up to kick her captor in the chest.

Michelle flew backwards, knocking the camera off of it's tripod and onto the floor.

Michelle got to her feet and snarled, “ I hope you like this cell.” She stormed over to the door, and once more hit the switch outside. The chains retracted again, pulling Elisa to the floor, and all but dragging her to the hole in which the chain was disappearing. When her wrist shackles were an inch or so from the hole, the chain stopped.

When Elisa looked up, both Michelle and Martin were gone, and the door had been closed behind them.

Elisa laid her forehead to the cold cement floor and closed her eyes. There were raised voices and scraping noises from outside her room, but a few minutes later even that noise faded away. 

Elisa tried to raise up to her knees, but because of her wrists being held down to the floor, she was still hunched over. Elisa tried tugging against her bonds, but she quickly abandoned the effort.

With a sigh, Elisa laid down on her stomach to rest for a moment. Her cheek was sore, her wrists hurt from pulling against her bonds, and her heart hurt from having to break the amulet that had allowed her to have a place in her husband's world for such a short time.

She couldn't regret the choice she made, however. Between her being a Gargoyle or a human, staying alive and keeping the clan safe by not allowing a new wave of fear, she did what needed to be done. 

So, she was fully human again and would remain that way. She knew that it wouldn't matter to the clan, her family and friends. She had been human for most of their time together.

Things would go back to normal.

Elisa let out a deep sigh. Well, it was done. She could sulk and worry later. 

Now, she had to find a way out of this mess.still laying on her stomach, she pushed up with her forearms and raised her upper body so that she could get a good look around the room. 

Nothing had really changed from the first time she had looked around. Still the same glaring white, almost clinical look to the place. From the room, itself, it looked like some kind of hospital or research facility. However, the brief glimpse into the hallway that she had managed to get was of a dark and dingy space outside. 

With the addition of the retractable chains, Elisa could only assume that the room was a decoy to throw anyone who had seen the television transmission off.

Wait.

Was the camera still transmitting? Elisa looked towards where the camera lay on the ground. She scooted her body around until her feet were pointed at it. She pushed herself out flat, stretching her body out, her bound wrists held far above her head. Her feet made contact with the camera, but only just a brush of her toes.

After a few moments, she gave up. She wasn't going to be able to move it. 

Pushing forward again, Elisa brought her knees up under her, and managed to sit with her hands between her legs. 

Turning again, she looked to the camera where it lay. The faint red light on the front was blinking. It had broken when it fell, but maybe…

“My name is Elisa Maza,” Elisa said, hoping that there was enough juice left in the equipment to get a message out. “I am a detective with the 23rd precinct in Manhattan. My partner is Matthew Bluestone. If anyone is getting this, please contact the police and tell him to backtrace this signal and…”

Elisa stopped. The red light, the small beacon of hope that she had, went out for the last time. 

Elisa sighed, frustrated. 

All sounds had stopped from outside the door. As far as she could tell, the Quarrymen had abandoned the place. She was alone.

She collapsed onto her side. She had done all that she could do for the moment, and as much as she hated the thought of just having to wait for a rescue like a bad romance novel heroine, her options were limited. 

She was tired, and her face still throbbing from that woman, Michelle's, hit. Elisa had had worse injuries, she admitted, but it was little comfort when she was in the situation that she found herself in.

Hopefully her message got out, and someone would be on their way soon.

In the meantime, she would conserve her energy. 


	17. Chapter 17

Captain Chavez and Matt were reviewing the information before them. They had a copy of the broadcast, but it had provided very little information in itself.

In the corner, Pamela was plugging away at a computer. She had taken classes in computers and broadcasting in college before settling on forensics as her chosen career.

She also had Lexington on a communicator in her ear, and they were working furiously on tracing the signal’s origin.

“All of the local stations have gone back to their original broadcasting, but at our request, they are still receiving the signals to try to help us.” Matt ran a frustrated hand through his already ravaged hair. “The video cut out a while ago, but the audio is still active. It's not as strong as the video signals would have been, but it's all we have at the moment.”

“It's better than nothing,” Maria said. She looked towards Pamela. “Any word from Lexington?”

“We are trying,” Pamela sighed. “These Quarrymen are getting smarter. They have bounced the signal off of every satellite and server in the Manhattan area. We are trying to backtrace it, but it is difficult.”

“Keep at it,” Maria said. “If you can narrow it down to an area, we can go door to door if we need to.”

Matt moved to place a comforting hand on his pregnant wife's shoulder. “Do you need a break?”

“I could really use some coffee,” Pamela said with a longing sigh. 

“I will get you some juice,” he replied with a smile. It was a familiar complaint from her, and had been from the day she had found out that she was pregnant. For a woman who basically ran on coffee and little else, having to cut out caffeine for the sake of the baby had been hard.

“Ugh,” she replied, but didn't argue any further.

Maria sent a concerned look towards Pamela. “Aren't you on Maternity leave?”

“Yeah,” Pamela said, har eyes squinting in concentration. “I started yesterday.”

Maria sent a censoring look towards Matt, and he shrugged. 

“I couldn't convince her to stay home,” Matt said.

“He tried,” Pamela admitted. “But between Lex and I, we are your best chance to find her sooner. Not saying that your cyber crimes people aren't good,” she hurried to add, “but we are better.”

“They hijacked television waves,” Maria pointed out. “That means that there are higher up agencies involved as well. This is what they do. If you need a break, you take it.”

“Will do,” Pamela replied absently. 

Matt leaned down to place a kiss on the top of her head, and went to grab a juice from the vending machine.

Maria tapped her own communicator, bringing herself into the loop. “Ok guys,” she said brusquely, “ what's the word?”

“We have it narrowed down to somewhere in the northern half of Manhattan,” Lexington explained. “That still leaves a lot of area to cover.”

“Keep me posted,” Maria said with a sigh. 

After the initial broadcast had begun, the station had been flooded with calls from people confused as to what was going on. Maria had tuned in just in time to watch Elisa, her friend and goddaughter to be stuck and dragged across the floor. She had gotten on the phone then, reporting the situation to the local FCC office.

That had been the easy call.

Next, she called Peter and Diane Maza. Diane had been a mess, and Peter was in a rage. She couldn't blame them, but she didn't have the time to deal with hysterical parents. She did her best to reassure them that everything possible was being done, but Elisa was still out there and needed help.

She had called the Xanatos’, and was assured that they were doing all that they could as well. Maria was pretty sure that that included some not so legal channels and contacts, but Maria was not going to complain.

Every available officer across the city was out, waiting for information and ready to begin the search. Some were already on overtime, and some we're working off the clock, all ready and willing to help their fellow officer.

They just needed a starting point.

“There,” Lexington and Pamela exclaimed at the same point.

“What?” Maria snapped.

“We have eliminated the internet cafes, the gaming centers and a lot of the tech heavy businesses that are still open and less likely to house something the size of that room that Elisa was in.” Pamela explained. “Anything with heavy internet presence and satellite dishes.”

“After that, we have it down to a ten block radius,” Lexington said. “It's not as narrowed an area that I want, but we can…”

Once more, Pamela's and Lexington's voices raised in unison, but this time, it was in a chorus of vicious cursing.

“What just happened?” Matt asked, entering the room to hear the creative string of cursing coming from his wife.

Pamela flung the cordless mouse across the room, where it shattered on impact. “We lost the signal.” She spat out.

Matt handed his wife the cold canned juice, the best that the station’s machine had to offer. “You got it down to one area,” he said, kneeling down to look in his wife's suddenly tear filled eyes. “That's more than we had. We have an area to start looking.”

Pamela wiped a hand across her eyes. “Damn these hormones,” she cursed, her voice wavering.

“You have done all you can,” Maria said gently. “Matt, take your wife home.”

“No,” Pamela protested.

Maria cut her off. “That's an order. You have yourself and the baby to think about, and this close to your due date, this much stress is not good. Go home,” she said firmly. “Put your feet up. We will take what information that you gave us, and we will start the search.”

“Only if you keep me posted,” Pamela said, stubbornly.

“We will let you know when we find her,” Maria promised. “Matt, take her home.”

“Alright,” Matt said.

“No, you stay,” Pamela said. “I can take a cab, and I will see you at home when you find her.”

Pamela had long since accepted that Matt and Elisa's relationship was strong. She had been jealous of it for a while, but having spoken to a few other officers and first responders, she had come to understand that most of them had a strong bond to their partners. Not in a romantic way, but more like family. Once she had understood that, and had taken the time to really get to know Elisa herself, she had gotten over it.

Once she had been brought into the inner trusted circle of the clan and it's members, had seen Elisa and Goliath together, she understood that Elisa and Matt's feelings for each other was not a threat to Pamela's relationship with Matt.

With that in mind, she knew that Matt would not want to sit at home with her and wait for news. He would go crazy.

“Really,” she reassured her husband. She kissed him on the cheek, and gave him a watery smile. “I am fine. Go. Find Elisa and bring her back.”

Matt walked her out to the squad room, and called for a cab. He waited with her, and helped her into the seat. He paid the cab driver, giving him a hefty tip for the driver to take extra care of his wife, and with the promise that the driver would help her out of the cab and walk her to their apartment door personally, the cab pulled away from the curb.

Matt sighed deeply. He wished he could be the kind of guy who could go home with her, and leave this mess to the other officers. He was lucky that Pamela understood his need to stay. 

And, a small part of him, a part that he would never admit to out loud, was a little resentful that Elisa found herself in this situation again, keeping him from Pam’s side. Especially now. He didn't begrudge his partner her happiness, and was more than willing to support Elisa in her relationship with the Gargoyles, but this wasn't the first time that her association with them had caused her harm.

No, he couldn't and wouldn't blame her. If the Quarryman organization was willing to attack anyone with an association with the clan, it could just as easily be him. He went to the castle sometimes, and the Gargoyles came by his place often as well. He had just managed to stay off their radar.

With a deep sigh, he turned to walk back into the station. 

There was a lot of work to be done yet, and they were burning moonlight. It was approaching midnight. The night was a little half over, and while Elisa was alone in that place for the moment, he wasn't sure that she would remain that way.


	18. Chapter 18

Elisa struggled to sit up again. 

She had laid there for what felt like hours, even though it may have only been minutes. 

It was still winter, and a cold chill had begun creeping in. Laying on the cold cement floor wasn't helping.

Raising herself back into her knees, she too stock of what she had in reach. Not a lot, she realized, but what she did have would help. 

Stretching herself out flat, she used her feet to kick at and remove the bedding from the cell block bed. Luckily, it only had a flat sheet and blanket on it that she could use, even if she couldn't get the mattress. Using her feet, she dragged the sheet and the blanket over enough to cover an area of the floor for her to lay on. Cushion wise, I'd didn't do much, but it would at least give her a little insulation from the cold cement.

Once that was done. She brought herself up to a sitting position again, one leg on either side of the chain that still held her hands low to the floor.

Frustrated, she gave her hands a violent jerk against the chains. She grimaced as she felt the metal bite into the soft flesh around her wrists, but tried one more time in hopes that the chains would budge. Even just one extra inch would be a relief.

Nothing. 

Elisa bowed her head. All she could do was wait and hope that she was found soon. She was tired for the first time in weeks. Of course, now that she was human again, fully human without the transformation spell, she would have to sleep again.

She was cold and thirsty. 

Elisa glared at the sink in the corner, above the toilet. She wasn't even sure if it worked, of just a prop in this elaborate setup. Obviously, this room had been made up to look like a jail cell, but she couldn't be sure that's really where she was. 

Elisa laid back down, careful to make sure that as much of her was on the blankets as possible. 

She closed her eyes, promising herself a brief rest.

She was asleep moments later.

\---’---@

“Have you found her yet?”

The booming voice echoed over the noise of the squad room, causing many of the shouting voices to fall silent.

From inside her office, Maria’s head shot up from where she had been hunched over her desk, looking over a map of the search area. She hurried to fold the map in half, unwilling to give Peter even a hint of where they believed Elisa to be.

She knew him well enough to know that with that information, he would storm off and begin looking on his own.

“Peter!” Maria called back, surprised. “I told you to stay home. We would have contacted you when we heard something.”

Peter Maza, a retired member of the force, barreled his way through the crowd, his wife Diane right behind him.

“I was not going to just sit at home, waiting, while every news station replayed that transmission over and over.”

Maria shook her head. “You're a civilian now. I can't give you the information on an ongoing police search and have you tearing through the city.”. 

“Maria,” Diane said, in a quieter, but no less effective tone. “Please.”

Maria sighed. “Without giving specifics, I can tell you that we have narrowed it down to an area. Most buildings there are apartments, some run down and some abandoned. We have every available officer going door to door with warrants to search. We will find her.”

Diane nodded. She didn't speak, but the distinct shine of tears welling up in her eyes gave the only hint towards her feelings.

Peter placed his palms on the back of one of her office chairs. “Then let me help from here. I was a beat cop for years. I know this city. Please,” he said through gritted teeth.

Maria sighed. “You can help from here, in my office,” she grudgingly gave in. “But only from here. One step out of this office,” Maria pointed a finger at him, “and I will have you looked in a holding tank to keep you out of the way.”

Peter shot his former partner an angry look. “Fine,” he snapped out.

“Fine,” Maria shot back. With a flick of a hand, she spread the map back out.

“Here is the area we were able to narrow it down to. Like I said, it's mostly older apartment buildings, none of which have any kind of setup that would include the kind of cell block room that showed up on the broadcast.”

“So they faked it,” Peter said, all business now.

Maria nodded. “That's what we are thinking.”

“Where are you starting?” He asked, staring at the layout of the map.

“Here,” Maria said, pointing to one building in the center of the area. “It is the center most location, with very few tenants. It is under new management, and there is a lot of renovations going on.”

“So they would not question a lot of workmen going in and out, or the noise required to build a fake room somewhere.” Peter concluded.

“Exactly,” Maria nodded. “Detective Bluestone should be there any moment with a large group of officers to check things out.”

“What about the woman?” Diane asked angrily. “The one who was on camera and hit Elisa?”

“Luckily, she was arrogant enough to use her real name.” Maria shook her head. “We have a warrant for her arrest, for several charges that will ensure that she is put away for quite a while. Officers have been placed around her building, and are waiting for her to show up now. She lives within the 23rds jurisdiction, so believe me when I say that those officers are prepared to stay there until she shows.”

“Good,” Peter grumbled. 

The phone on the desk rang, and Maria snatched it up from the cradle. “Yes?”

She listened for a moment, then hung up. “Bluestone is at the location now, and the officers have begun sweeping the building.”

“Tell them to search the basements and empty apartments.” Peter said, not looking up from the map.

“Peter,” Maria admonished. “They know what they are doing. Besides that, Bluestone won't let them cut corners.”

Maria looked to Diane. “Have you been to see Liam?”

Maria blinked. “Oh,” she raised a hand to her mouth, shame coloring her cheeks. “We have been so worried about Elisa, that…” 

“Here,” Maria passed the woman her phone. “Call Skyler and check in. I am sure that they're both worried too.”

“Yes,” Diane took the phone and dialed Elisa's home number.

Maria, satisfied that both parties had something to do, stepped back and tapped the communicator in her ear. “How are you guys doing?”

“I am on the roof of the building,” Brooklyn answered. “Goliath and the rest are circling, trying to look in Windows to see if we can find anything to help.”

“Be careful,” Maria cautioned. “Stay in the shadows.”

“We are,” Brooklyn promised. “Not a lot of street lights here to cause much issues above the third floor.”

“Keep me posted,” she said, leaving the channel open. “I have Peter and Diane here helping from the station, so we will have a little extra insight.”

“Peter’s there?” Brooklyn sounded surprised. “And he’s staying put?”

Maria fought the urge to laugh despite the seriousness of the situation. “Not voluntarily, but for the moment he is here.”

“Yeah,” Maria could almost see him smirk in her mind. “Good luck with that.”

“Thanks.” She said. “I may need it.”


	19. Chapter 19

Almost two hours later, a very frustrated Bluestone met with the equally angry officers. They had been through the building from basement to roof, and there was no sign of either Elisa or the fake cellblock that she had been in. 

“Alright,” Matt sighed. He took a map, a copy of the one Maria was looking at in her office and spread it out on the hood of his car. With a large red marker, he drew an x through the location they were at. “Now we break off. Every building within five block of here gets searched. Every apartment, basement, every storage unit. Marco,” he called out, holding the marker to another officer. “You're in charge here. Everyone call out and keep in contact. Marco will keep track of everyone and organize the search. As we get farther out, if your group needs extra people, let him know, and he will contact the station. Keep an eye out for anyone coming and going. You know what that Michelle woman looks like, and she is to be arrested on sight, along with anyone dressed in a Quarryman uniform. Let's move, people.”

The officers broke into smaller groups and began heading to the other buildings. 

Matt looked uneasily at the sky. The sun would be coming up soon. Matt tapped his communicator and used his cell phone to give him the appearance of speaking to someone.

“Where are you guys?” He asked.

“I’m still on the roof above you,” Brooklyn said. “The others have spread out to other rooftops and buildings, trying to keep watch from above.”

“You should head back to the castle soon,” Matt said quietly, trying to avoid being overheard.

“I know,” Brooklyn said. “Goliath said the same, and he hates having to leave so soon.”

“At least get to Elisa's.” Matt said. “Somewhere safe. She would hate having you all so scattered for the day.”

“Yeah,” Brooklyn said. “We will gather somewhere safe, and hopefully have some word by then.”

“Let me know where you all end up,” Matt said. “I want to be able to tell her that you all are safe when we find her.”

“Gotcha,” Lexington said.

Matt sighed, putting his phone back in his pocket. He had been hoping to find Elisa by now. 

With that, he turned back to Marco and tried to decide which direction to go next.

\---’---@

  
  


Talon was prowling through the subway tunnels and sewers. He new these places better than anyone, and wanted to be near by when Elisa was found. He wasn't able to help topside, but he knew that several of the older buildings in this part of the city actually had doors into the Workman tunnels. Some for nefarious reasons, some for practicality from the original construction for ease of access.

It was a long shot, he knew, but it was all he could do to help.

He didn't have an official map, but he had his memory, and with that he was following the search effort with the aid of the communicators.

They had ended the search at the first building and spread out over the span of the search area, but Talon decided to begin at the same place. There was an access tunnel connected to that particular building that would give him a good starting point.

He moved through the tunnels with the ease, grace and the night vision of the cat that he resembled. He made his way down the wide tunnel, before coming to a dead end. Puzzled, he looked closely at the wall. He didn't remember this one ending so abruptly.

He reached out and scraped a claw along one of the bricks. It was weathered, but not as badly as those that lined the sides of the rest of the tunnel. Looking closely at his claw, he noticed a trace of a fine mortar powder. It was not new enough to be wet, but the remaining mortar mix that hadn't fully been properly wet and set had not had time to fall away yet.

Looking towards the top, he saw a few orange colored power cords that disappeared into the wall. 

Knowing that this could very well be an inventive dwelling that some homeless person had built, or just a new expansion onto a building's basement, he decided it was worth a look.

He ran his hands along the wall, looking for any kind of loose brick, finally finding one along the bottom with a small gap that the morter hadn't been filled in.

He used his claws to pick away at it, managing to clear away a small slit that he could look through. Lying flat, he narrowed his eyes to glance inside. 

White. Everything was so white. There was some sort of metal looking bar that obstructed the center of his view, and he was about to just shrug it off and move on, but a small movement caught his attention.

There, on the left side, was a small patch of blue and black.

Silently, he watched as the color slowly moved again, and he could see it was a blue jean clad legs ending with a black boots. 

He didn't need to see the face. He just went with his gut.

“Elisa?” He called out.

The leg twitched, and a familiar voice called out, “who's there?”

Talking let out a breath that he hadn't been aware that he had been holding.

“What? You can't recognize your little brother’s voice?”

“Talon!” Elisa exclaimed. I can't see you. Where are you?”

“On the other side on a wall,” he answered. “I can only see your feet, but thanks to you being fashion challenged, I recognized you.”

“God,” Elisa said, and the legs slowly moved out of his view. “ Please tell me that you have someone with you to help.”

“Not right now,” he admitted. “But Matt and some other officers are on the street above you. I am going to let them know where you are.”

“Thank you,” Elisa said. “Tell Matt to hurry. I really need to use the a bathroom.”

Talon laughed. “I’m right here,” he hurried to reassure her. “I am staying here until they get you out, and if you wet your pants, I promise not to tell.”

“Just make the call,” Elisa ground out. 

“On it,” Talon said. He was all business now, as he activated the communicator. “This is Talon. Who's still awake out there?”

“Matt here,” Bluestone replied. “The sun came up about ten minutes ago.”

“Chavez here,” Maria chimed in. “What's the word?”

“I found her,” he said. “She is in the old access tunnels below your original location. There may be an access point in the basement that may have been overlooked, or one through a nearby building. I came from the East side, and the entire tunnel is blocked off by one wall of the cell, so I can't get to her.”

“Do you have a visual?” Maria barked out, sounding full on police Captain. 

“Yes, but barely,” Talon admitted. “I can see her legs, and I can speak with her, but I only managed to make a three inch break between bricks. I can't see where the actual entrance is.”

“Where is the nearest entrance that I can get to?” Matt asked. “I am heading back to the original location.”

“Go check out the basement of that original apartment building,” Talking suggested. “I am willing to bet that if you feel along the walls, or check behind some junk piles in there, you’ll find the door.”

“We checked it out,” Matt said. “But I will head back and look again.”

“Keep me updated,” Maria said. “It is taking all that I have to keep your father here right now.”

“Yeah,” Talon said, chuckling. “Good luck with that one, Maria.”

She didn’t reply, but he could imagine her rolling her eyes towards the ceiling.

Talon laid back down, and looked through the hole he had made. “I made the call. Matt’s on his way, and Maria has her hands full with Dad.”

“Ugnh,” Elisa groaned. “I can only imagine.”

Talon watched as Elisa’s legs moved restlessly.

“Are you okay?” He asked, concerned. 

“I’m stiff and sore,” Elisa admitted. “The most comfortable position for me at the moment is laying on the floor, and that’s not saying much. My legs almost feel numb from being still so long.” 

“We’ll get you out of there soon,” Talon promised. He began feeling around for more loose mortar. 

“Matt, where are you?” Talon asked.

“I will be entering the building in a few minutes.” Matt replied. 

“Copy,” Talon automatically replied. 

“I hear someone,” Elisa said.

Talon froze. “What?”

“I hear a voice,” Elisa said. “It sounds like it’s coming closer.

“Matt’s not here yet,” Talon said, feeling fear rise in his chest. “It can’t be him.”

“Damn it,” Elisa said, “I was afraid of that.”

Talon was watching as Elisa attempted to get her legs under her again. He heard a door open, and was able to finally get a sense of where the door was.

It was across from him.

That means that he just sent Matt to a building that wouldn’t give him access to Elisa. Someone needed to get to the other side of the tunnel.

He swore roundly. “Hold on, Elisa,” Talon urged his sister silently. He needed to contact Matt, but he couldn’t speak without drawing attention to himself and possibly making it worse for Elisa.

“Matt,” Talon said as loudly as he dared. “Matt, can you hear me? Forget the basement. Go through the sewer access…”

Talon froze as he heard Elisa gasp.

“Still no change?” A chillingly familiar voice met Talon’s ears from inside the room. “A pity…”


	20. Chapter 20

“Sevarius,” Elisa snarled. “Somehow I knew we weren’t rid of you, yet.”

“Now, now, my dear,” there was the screech of Metal against concrete as Anton Sevarius pulled the chair out to sit in it. “Interesting, is it not, that whenever the opportunity to study human and Gargoyle dna presents itself, it is your family that is involved?”

“Interesting is one way to say it,” Elisa said, sarcastically flippant. 

“Hmm,” Sevarius hummed, thoughtfully. “I was hoping that Michelle’s reports had been correct, and that you were truly both human and Gargoyle. But,” He said with a sigh, standing and brushing the palms of his hands against his thighs. “Honestly, your brother took to the DNA splicing so well, I have been wanting another go at it. I am thinking that if I mixed in a form of large bird, and less feline, that I might have better results.”

“You are truly insane,” Elisa ground out. 

“Genius is always seen as insanity until it wields world changing results.” Sevarious said, rubbing his hands together. “The advances that could be made for science could help cure diseases.”

“And be worth billions to the highest bidder,” Elisa shot back.

“Trillions,” Sevarius said with a smug smile. “An army could be created that would be virtually indestructible. Super human strength with nearly endless energy? Not to mention the whole shooting electricity from their hands ability such as your brother got. I could name a price and let the bidding war begin.”

Elisa, pushed as far back and away from Sevarius as she could, but knew that there was very little that she would be able to do to defend herself.

“Oh, come now,” Sevarius said, sounding as if he were disciplining a small child as he walked toward her. “I will unlock your chains from the floor, and we will go for a ride to my little lab.”

“Like hell,” Elisa snarled, kicking her leg out, driving her foot into his left knee.

With an almost audible pop as the knee dislocated, Sevarious shouted and went down. “Alright,” He shouted. “I tried to play nice, little girl.” He got to his feet, limping as he began advancing towards her. He reached in his pocket and withdrew a small pistol from his lab coat. “Now I’m not inclined to be so nice.”

A low growl began filling the room.

Sevarius began looking around, frantically, swinging the pistol around with his gaze. “What was that?”

“What?” Elisa asked angrily, hoping that she could point his attention elsewhere. All she needed was for him to find Talon. “I don’t hear anything.” She sent him a mocking smile, “Maybe you really are crazy.”

The gun arm swung back around and pointed at her head. “I. Am. Not. Crazy.” He ground out between gritted teeth.

Realizing that she may have pushed the poor little psycho just a wee bit too far, Elisa began to try to make herself as small as target as she could. She hunched into herself until she was as tight as ball as she could manage.

“You know what?” Sevarius said, “I do believe that I am going to enjoy working with your DNA and watching you suffer through the transformation that your body will go through.”

There was a deafening roar, and suddenly the wall behind her exploded.

\---’---@

  
  


Talon was trying to control his emotions.

The mere fact that Sevarius, the man who still haunted his dreams, was still a free man was enough of a shock, being that several American and more than a few foreign law enforcement agencies we're actively looking for him. 

Having Dr Psycho show up, where Talon’s sister was being held captive and threaten to give her the same DNA altering cocktail that had been forced on him was unbearable. He remembered the pain of feeling his bones stretch, his joints contorting and his skin feeling as if it were on fire. Afterwards, there had been weeks of relearning how to walk, talk, fly and even eat. He had been isolated from everyone and everything that he had known. With the exception of Elisa, he had been afraid of his family's reaction and had purposely avoided them for a long time.

No way was he going to stand by and let that happen.

Talon felt the electrical charges build, his fur standing on end and crackling visibly with a bluish current. 

With a roar that felt as if it were born from the very deep well of anger over what had happened to him, he punched both fists into the cinder block wall.

The electrical charges took care of the rest.

The wall blew inward, sending a rolling cloud of dust and debris spreading in all directions.

When the cloud began clearing, the tall male figure separated itself from the rest of the remains of the room. He was bent over, coughing and hacking, covered head to feet in grey dust.

Talon rushed him, taking him down in a rush of fur and wings. He had Sevarius on his belly, Talon’s knee securely holding him there so there was no chance of escape.

“Talon? Elisa?” Matt called, his voice broken up by a coughing fit thanks to all of the dust. 

“Over here, Matt,” Talon called.

There was a scraping sound as Matt shoved his way through the door. “What happened in here?” Matt asked cautiously.

“Talon lost his temper,” Elisa called out. “Not that I’m complaining, but a little heads up next time would be awesome.”

“I hear you,” Matt said slowly, scanning the remains of the room, “but I don't see you.”

There was a loud thumping sound as one of the larger piles of rubble bounced a little. 

“Here,” Elisa shouted again. “The bed landed in front of me. I still can't use my hands, or I’d get myself out. All I can move are my legs.”

The sound and bump happened again.

“You take care of this trash,” Talon snarled, referring to the suddenly silent scientist.

Matt removed the pair of old metal cuffs he always carried from his pocket, and put them on the man’s wrists.

“If you have any flexicuffs,” Elisa called out, “I would suggest that you put them on his ankles.”

“He’s a bit of an escape artist,” Talon said, lifting off the man. 

“He’s also a wanted fugitive,” Elisa added. 

“Totally justified then,” Matt agreed, pulling out a hand full of the plastic zip tie looking cuffs. Glad I spent some time on my cousin’s ranch when I was younger, and know how to hog tie someone up.”

“Does Pamela know about that?” Elisa tossed out.

“Well, Elisa's making inappropriate jokes,” Talking said with a smile. “That's a good sign.”

He watched as Sevarius’ ankles were bound together and the legs bent to link the wrist and ankle cuffs.

“Still under some rubble, here,” Elisa called out, annoyed. “Still have to pee.”

Talon rolled his eyes at Matt, and moved to free his sister. He pulled the flat metal bed frame from Elisa's back, dislodging several smaller pieces of cinder block from the underside.

“Thanks,” she said, able to finally straighten up. She groaned as her spine felt like it was realigning one vertebrae at a time. “There is something outside the door that will loosen up the chains so I can stand up.”

“On it,” Matt said, hurrying to the door.

There was a click and a sudden slack to the chains that has Elisa reflexively pull upwards, giving herself the freedom to stand for the first time in hours.

With a groan, Elisa got to her feet.

“Guys,” Elisa said with a grimace, “ I don't honestly know if this toilet is a prop or not, but it is about to be used. Can you haul this guy out and give a girl some privacy for a minute?”

“With pleasure,” Talon said, reaching down to grasp the metal cuffs.

“Ahh,” Sevarius yelped as an electrical charge shocked him.

“Oops,” Talon said with a grin that said he was not sorry at all.

Together Matt and Talon dragged the immobilized man through the door.

Elisa didn't waste time. As soon as she was alone, she took care of her exceedingly full bladder, almost tearing up in relief.

Once she was finished, she called to the boys. Matt came in, Sevarious’ key ring in hand. After three failed attempts to find the right key, number four was the winner. Finally freed, Elisa and Matt joined the other two outside the improvised cell. 

“Other officers are on their way,” Matt said. 

“Go ahead and get out of here,” Elisa said to Talon. “We got things from here.”

“Glad we found you, sis,” Talon said, giving her shoulders a squeeze.

“Me too,” Elisa said, throwing her arms around her brother in a show of sibling affection. “Thank you for not giving up.” She said softly.

“Never.” He said firmly. “Even when you were missing five years ago, we never gave up.”

Elisa sighed. “We Mazas are a tough breed.”

“That we are,” Talon said with a laugh. “And stubborn. Now,” Talon said, shoving Elisa towards the increasing sound of voices and running feet pounding on stone. “Get out of here. Go see Mom and Dad, go home, and see your son.”

“Come to the castle tonight,” Elisa called after his retreating form.

He waved in response as he turned the corner and disappeared from sight.


	21. Chapter 21

Elisa was taken to a hospital for a physical exam, as dictated by Captain Chavez. 

Her wrists were bandaged to treat the raw skin and minor cuts from the metal shackles. With the exception of some bruised knees from being drug across the floor by the chains, and a big one across her left shoulder from being hit with the bedframe during the explosion, she was in relatively good shape.

From there, she met with her parents and sister at the station. Her fellow officers had given the family space to be reunited in one of the interview rooms. There were hugs, tears and a healthy dose of cursing the Quarryman organization in general.

Finally, there was a round of celebration when a large group of FBI entered the station to haul away one Anton Sevarius.

Elisa did a double take at him when he was escorted out. His clothes were disheveled, he was still coated in a layer of concrete dust, but he also looked a little roughed up.

She sent her father a look.

He shrugged. “Don't look at me. He must have tripped and fallen down.”

“Dad,” Elisa said, shocked.

“Hey,” he raised his hands in surrender. “I didn't touch him. Good thing, too. He wouldn't be able to walk, after what he did to our family.”

Elisa sighed.

“He actually did trip and fall,” Maria said, coming up behind the family. “He tried to get up too fast after having his legs secured for so long. His legs went out from under him, and he hit the table in the interrogation room on the way down. Of course, my officers really weren't in a hurry to help him up, and I’m really going to have to talk to them about that.”

Elisa rolled her eyes. “What about that Michelle woman?”

Maria looked surprised. “You haven't heard?” When Elisa shook her head, Maria's lips widened into a wide grin. “She was so certain that you were going to just turn into a Gargoyle on live television, that she used her real name. As the broadcast was happening, we were fielding calls from friends, family and coworkers of Michelle who were only too happy to turn over her address so that she would be caught. Officers staked out in front of her building, and caught her there an hour ago.”

Elisa shook her head at the stupidity. “What about the others?”

“Michelle has been handing out names left and right of other Quarrymen, as well as known locations of their meetings.” Maria said. “We will be hauling them all in under suspicion of involvement of the kidnapping and assault of an officer. If any of them have so much as a parking ticket, they'll be held for the maximum allowed time.”

Elisa blinked at Maria in surprise. “This from the woman who wouldn't let bring in Tony Dracon a few years ago when he stole all those laser weapons?”

Maria shrugged. “You didn't have any proof of that at the time,” she said. “We have video evidence, a confession and a very pissed off police Captain. No one messes with one of my people and gets away with it.”

Elisa chuckled. “Alright, Aunt Maria. Just keep it legal.”

“Of course!” Maria protested. “I am a cop, after all.”

Elisa sighed. “All right. When do you need me to give a statement?”

“Tomorrow is soon enough. It’s just a formality at this point. He is wanted for so many other crimes that yours is just another report added to a very long list,” Maria said, placing a gentle hand on Elisa’s shoulder. “Go home. Give your boy a hug, and be there tonight when your husband wakes up.”

“That sounds amazing,” Elisa admitted.

\---’---@

Elisa loved her family. 

She really did.

Sometimes, though, she wished she could ask them to go away without hurting their feelings.

Her father kept talking about the rescue efforts to find her.

Her mother kept cooking and shoving food at Elisa, because she had mentioned being hungry when they left the station to go to her condo.

Beth kept trying to do everything else, jumping to her feet every time Elisa dared to get to her feet and offering to help Elisa with...Everything? Anything?

The only person who seemed to understand that Elisa was feeling overwhelmed was Skyler.

May the Goods bless that girl.

Skyler had met Elisa at the door, and gently placed Liam in her arms for Elisa to hold. Elisa hadn't even taken the time to think about how badly she had needed to hold her son, but as she held the happy boy, tears had threatened to fall.

When a few traitorous tears had dared to fall, Skyler had quickly and quietly passed her a tissue.

A short time later, Skyler had called Elisa into another room, asking for help with putting Liam down for nap time.

Elisa was puzzled, since Liam rarely had trouble going down for a nap. She went upstairs, and Skyler gently pushed her into her own room, shutting the door and giving her a precious fifteen minutes alone.

Finally, Elisa managed to convince them all to go home. 

Once more, Skyler came to the rescue, insisting that she take Liam to the castle for the evening to play with the Xanatos kids, and giving Elisa the chance to greet the clan alone.

And so, with ten minutes until the sun would set, Elisa was in her rooftop courtyard waiting to greet the clan. 

Most of the original clan members were there. Bronx was missing, but was probably at the castle with Angela and the twins.

Looking at them all now, Elisa couldn't remember the last time that she had seen them all in their full guardian poses. More recently, they took on less frightening positions for their daytime rest. Goliath usually took on his thoughtful pose, and the rest had begun to follow his lead.

That day, however, they were all frozen in various ferocious poses. Talons and teeth bared, wings outstretched as if they were prepared to wake up and dash straight into battle. Hudson's trusty sword was in his hand, and even Lexington had left his trusty laptop and headset nearby, ready to jump right into action as soon as the sun set.

Elisa felt a love for all of these guys, her extended family and dear friends. They weren't going to be left out of any chance to come to her rescue. In reality, they never had.

They had been patient with her, teaching her their ways in the beginning, and more recently, teaching her how to move and fight like a true Gargoyle.

Elisa's gaze fell on Goliath's face, and her heart hurt a little. His beloved face, frozen in an expression of anger and hurt devastated her. Knowing that, through no fault of her own, she had been the cause…

Elisa saw the last of the light fade from the sky and heard the cracking of the Gargoyles stone skin. She backed away only as far as she needed to, not quite able to make her feet move any farther than she absolutely had to.

The collective roar was deafening.

She hadn't heard anything so wonderful in a while.

Before the roars had fully faded, they sprang into action. 

Elisa tried to call out to them, but her voice didn't reach them in time.

Goliath led the charge off the roof, followed by Brooklyn, Hudson and Broadway.

Lexington dropped to grab his computer, slamming the headphones onto his head as the small machine booted up.

Elisa couldn't help herself. She had to laugh at the stunning show of the clan rushing out to fight… even when the person they were going to battle for was right behind them.

“Okay guys,” Lexington was saying, his focus only on the computer screen. “I am bringing the comm system online.”

“Lex,” Elisa called out. When he didn't react, she realized that her voice had probably not carried through his high tech headgear.

“Matt,” Lexington called out, tapping keys. “Are you there?”

Elisa approached Lexington from behind, placing a hand over his on the keyboard to get his attention.

He glanced at her, back at her hand and snapped his gaze back up as if he was afraid to believe that she was there.

Elisa pushed one side of the headphones off to free up one of his ears. “Call them back, Lex.” She said with a smile.

Lexington nodded quickly, and with a huge grin, he tapped a few keys. “Guys, turn around and come back.”

Elisa heard some rumbling replies, and held out her hand to Lexington.

He handed over his headphones to her.

“Guys,” Elisa said, just barely able to make them out against the night sky, “I am here at home. I am fine. Come back.”

Once her message had been delivered, Lexington launched himself at her and gave her a hug. Elisa laughed and hugged him back.

She managed to get free from the exuberant hug, and the headphones placed by the computer as the rest of the clan came swooping in.

One by one, they all rushed forward to embrace her, and one by one, they walked inside her condo.

Goliath waited, albeit impatiently, until last. Elisa threw her arms around his chest, and just held on as tightly as she could. Goliath held her to him, one arm around her shoulders and his other hand cradling her head where at now rested against his chest.

“Elisa,” his deep voice reverberating through his chest. “My Elisa.”

Elisa couldn't respond. Finally in the arms of her husband, the one she loved and had proven over and over that he would always be there to catch her if she would fall, Elisa felt as if she were finally home.

She felt safe.

Finally, she allowed her emotions to take over. Now that her parents were gone and their son wasn't watching, she dropped the air of toughness that she tended to wrap around herself. She held tight to her beloved and cried.

She let all of the fear and rage loose and just let Goliath comfort her.

For a good ten minutes, the stood there, in the rapidly cooling night air. Goliath wrapped his leathery wings around her, protecting her from the cold as best he could until her tears stopped. When Elisa felt like she was back in control, she wiped her face and gently took a step back to look into his face.

She took a steadying breath. “Well, it looks like I am back to being just plain human Elisa.”

Goliath ran his talons through her hair. “Human or Gargoyle, you have always been beautiful to me. I would love you, no matter what form you chose.”

“I didn't really have a choice,” Elisa sighed. “I had to destroy the amulet. I couldn't let them get me on record as changing forms.”

“There are always choices,” Goliath said. “You made the choice that was right for you at the time.”

“I didn't want to start a whole new Gargoyle panic in the city,” Elisa admitted. “And maybe, if I were honest, I had already decided that while being a Gargoyle was fun and interesting… I missed just being me.”

Goliath smiled down at her. “So, we go back to the way things have always been. I missed being with you while you worked at night. Being there to help you protecting the city.”

Elisa looked up at him in surprise. “Really? I thought you would like having me being a Gargoyle.”

“I did,” Goliath admitted. “But…”

Elisa gave him a bright smile. “But it was different.”

“Yes,” he said.

“Big Guy,” Elisa admonished. “Why didn't you say something sooner?”

“It was your decision, and I did not want to take that away from you.”

Elisa laughed then. “Maybe this won't be such a bad thing after all. As soon as Matt and Pamela’s baby is born, I can go back to my overnight shifts and life can just get back to normal.”

“Normalcy is not a bad thing, Elisa.” Goliath chuckled.

“Well,” she smiled sheepishly. “As normal as we get.”

“I am convinced that 'normal’ does not really exist.” He said thoughtfully. “Normal varies from being to being. What works for us,” he kissed her cheek, “would not work with someone else’s version of normal.”

“Well said,” Elisa laughed again. “Let's just stick with that.”

He took her hand in his, frowned at the bandage he found there and sighed. “I am truly sorry for all you have gone through for us. I would spare you and Liam the dangers if I could.”

“I know you would, Goliath,” Elisa said, trying to tug her hand back from him. She hated him seeing the marks from what had happened, and was not looking forward to him seeing the bruise on her shoulder. “But I am home, and we are all fine.”

“Yes,” Goliath acknowledged. “We are together again, and that is what truly matters.”

“Let's go to the castle,” Elisa suggested. “Skyler took Liam there, and I would like to spend the evening with all of you. Let the city take care of itself for one night.”

Goliath looked as if he wanted to protest, but finally agreed. “Alright. Let us go, and just be with family this night.”

“Tomorrow is a new day,” Elisa said with a smile. 

Moments later, the Manhattan clan of Gargoyles took to the skies.

Elisa looked at them all from the safety of Goliath’s arms, gliding so gracefully across the skies and found a measure of peace.

Goliath was right. 'Normal’ was subjective. 

This was her normal, and she was glad to have it back.


	22. Chapter 22

That night, after all the excitement had died away and the rest of the clan had resumed their patrols, Elisa and Goliath were left behind at the castle. 

The couple had offered Skyler the night off, and had all but shoved her out the door with enough cash for dinner and a movie. Skyler had smiled at the couple, taken the offered money, and promised to be back later.

Elisa happened to mention that the AMC Rialto theater had a rarely used balcony section that the gargoyles had discovered a while ago where they could sneak in and take in a movie once in a while, just in case Skyler would like company.

Skyler looked at Elisa, uncomprehending for a moment before a radiant smile crossed her face. “Thanks, Elisa!” she said with a laugh. 

“You have your communicator, right?” Elisa asked. After recent events, she wanted to make sure that everyone close to the clan was equipped in case of emergency.

“It’s right here,” Skyler said, patting the pocket on her tidy button up shirt. 

“Good,” Elisa said. “You use that whenever you need it. Let the clan know if you need help, or even if you just want company in a strange, new theater.” Elisa winked at her.

Skyler laughed, and took her leave. It did Elisa’s heart good to watch the girl put the earpiece in as she entered the elevator.

Elisa returned to the library and closed the door, before turning to rejoin her family. 

Liam was busy racing his toy cars around the “tracks” that he had made on the thick, plush rug by using blocks to outline it. Making the baby talk “vroom vroom” noises and the screeching of tires as they took the curves.

Goliath was sitting on the large overstuffed sofa, watching his son play with a combination of amusement and bafflement. 

Elisa mad a mental note to have him watch a Nascar race sometime, so that he would have a reference for their son’s new obsession with racing cars.

Elisa made her way to the sofa, sitting beside her husband, and leaning tiredly against his side.

Goliath gently placed his arm around her shoulders. “You are tired, and should get some rest.”

“I will,” Elisa promised. “I just want to be with you boys for a little while longer. I’m not ready to sleep yet.”

Goliath sent her a doubtful look, but remained silent.

“I haven’t had a lot of time to talk to you since you woke tonight,” Elisa said softly. “There was one little development that I don’t know if you know about.”

Goliath frowned down at her. “What happened?”

Elisa took a deep breath before telling Goliath about the health problems that had accompanied her gargoyle form.

Goliath’s arm tightened around her as she spoke. When she was finished, Goliath slid down to kneel in front of her, taking her hands in his. 

“Why did you not tell me?” he asked, the deep timber of his voice lower than normal in concern. 

“I couldn’t have done anything that night, Goliath,” Elisa reminded him. “I could only end the spell in the form I wanted to remain in, so I couldn’t break the hourglass while a gargoyle anyway. Maybe,” Elisa said thoughtfully, “if I had, maybe the health things would have fixed themselves, but…”

“But it would not be worth taking the chance,” Goliath finished for her. “Not to me. Not for Liam.”

“I was hoping that you would see it that way.” Elisa said in relief. “I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t want you to worry about it that last night. I saw Dr James that morning, and he confirmed that while in human form, everything was fine, and I knew that I couldn’t take the chance of something going horribly wrong health wise. With no guarantees that things would balance out if I remained a gargoyle,” Elisa shrugged, “I had pretty much left here understanding that the risk was not worth it. I had every intention of going home and breaking the amulet, but then Michelle and her goon squad hijacked my ride home. Thank the gods that they didn’t take the necklace when they took everything else.”

“Elisa,” Goliath stood, pulling Elisa to her feet, “I would never ask you to risk your health and safety for any reason. I want you to be with me, with  _ us _ for a long time.”

Elisa smiled at her husband, placing a hand to his cheek, “That’s what I want too, Big Guy.”

“Mama,” Liam’s cheerful squeal came as he raced towards his parents. “Dad, did you see? Did you see the race?”

Goliath chuckled and swept the small child up in his arms. 

He stood with his son in one arm, and his love under the other. His clan was out protecting their island, and would be returning soon. Their close friends and allies were all safe. His daughter was down the hall, keeping watch over the other children.

His family was still whole and healthy, and that’s all he could ever ask for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3/5/2018
> 
> Thank you all for reading this latest bit from my little universe.
> 
> I started “The Gift” in November for Nanowrimo, and didn’t quite get it finished due to… well, life happened. 
> 
> I had been working on it a little bit at a time here and there, but finally told myself to just finish the darn thing. So I gave myself two days, and here is the result. 
> 
> It’s not as polished as some of my other stories, and certainly not as long, but I had been plotting this one out in my head and wanted to at least get it out.
> 
> I wanted to give Elisa the chance and the choice to be a Gargoyle, even if it was only for a little while, and just see what happened. I will admit that I knew that she would reminan human, and a good friend of mine claimed that it was cheating, giving her this choice when I already knew what the ending was.
> 
> In my defense, the Beauty and the Beast part of the love story that developed between Goliath and Elisa was my favorite part of the show. Learning to look beyond the exterior and seeing the strong protector and love underneath. 
> 
> I fell in love with the whole clan, the family, and their allies as it continues to grow.
> 
> Thank you all,
> 
> Starr Williams


End file.
